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The Schengen agreement is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished.

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The Schengen Agreement ( SHENG-ən, Luxembourgish: ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the ten member states of the then European Economic Community. It proposed measures intended to gradually abolish border checks at the signatories' common borders, including reduced-speed vehicle checks which allowed vehicles to cross borders without stopping, allowing residents in border areas freedom to cross borders away from fixed checkpoints, and the harmonisation of visa policies.

In 1990, the Agreement was supplemented by the Schengen Convention which proposed the complete abolition of systematic internal border controls and a common visa policy. The Schengen Area operates very much like a single state for international travel purposes with external border controls for travellers entering and exiting the area, and common visas, but with no internal border controls. It currently consists of 29 European countries covering a population of over 400 million people and an area of 4,312,099 square kilometres (1,664,911 sq mi).

Originally, the Schengen treaties and the rules adopted under them operated independently from the European Union. However, in 1999 they were incorporated into European Union law by the Amsterdam Treaty, while providing opt-outs for the only two EU member states that had remained outside the Area: Ireland and the United Kingdom (which subsequently withdrew from the EU in 2020). Schengen is now a core part of EU law, and all EU member states without an opt-out which have not already joined the Schengen Area are legally obliged to do so when technical requirements have been met. Several non-EU countries are included in the area through special association agreements.

Schengen, border town in Luxembourg where the agreement was signed

Free movement of people was a core part of the original Treaty of Rome and, from the early days of the European Economic Community, nationals of EEC member states could travel freely from one member state to another on production of their passports or national identity cards. However, systematic identity controls were still in place at the border between most member states.[citation needed ]

Disagreement between member states led to an impasse on the abolition of border controls within the Community, but in 1985 five of the then ten member states - Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany - signed an agreement on the gradual abolition of common border controls. The agreement was signed on the Princess Marie-Astrid boat on the river Moselle near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, where the territories of France, Germany and Luxembourg meet. Three of the signatories, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, had already abolished common border controls as part of the Benelux Economic Union.[citation needed ]

EU member states participating

EU member states participating, but with land border controls still in force

EU member states not participating but obliged to join

EU member states with an opt-out

non-EU member states participating

non-EU member states de facto participating

The Schengen Agreement was signed independently of the European Union, in part owing to the lack of consensus amongst EU member states over whether or not the EU had the jurisdiction to abolish border controls, and in part because those ready to implement the idea did not wish to wait for others (at this time there was no enhanced co-operation mechanism). The Agreement provided for harmonisation of visa policies, allowing residents in border areas the freedom to cross borders away from fixed checkpoints, the replacement of passport checks with visual surveillance of vehicles at reduced speed, and vehicle checks that allowed vehicles to cross borders without stopping.

In 1990, the Agreement was supplemented by the Schengen Convention which proposed the abolition of internal border controls and a common visa policy. It was this Convention that created the Schengen Area through the complete abolition of border controls between Schengen member states, common rules on visas, and police and judicial cooperation.[citation needed ]

The Schengen Agreement and its implementing Convention were enacted in 1995 only for some signatories,[which? ] but just over two years later during the Amsterdam Intergovernmental Conference, all European Union member states except the United Kingdom and Ireland had signed the Agreement. It was during those negotiations, which led to the Amsterdam Treaty, that the incorporation of the Schengen acquis into the main body of European Union law was agreed along with opt-outs for Ireland and the United Kingdom (which subsequently withdrew from the EU in 2020), which were to remain outside of the Schengen Area.

A simple sign marks the Schengen border between Spain and Portugal.

In December 1996 two non-EU member states, Norway and Iceland, signed an association agreement with the signatories of the Agreement to become part of the Schengen Area. While this agreement never came into force, both countries did become part of the Schengen Area after concluding similar agreements with the EU. The Schengen Convention itself was not open for signature by non-EU member states. In 2009, Switzerland finalised its official entry to the Schengen Area with the acceptance of an association agreement by popular referendum in 2005.

Now that the Schengen Agreement is part of the acquis communautaire, it has, for EU members, lost the status of a treaty, which could only be amended according to its terms. Instead, amendments are made according to the legislative procedure of the EU under EU treaties. Ratification by the former agreement signatory states is not required for altering or repealing some or all of the former Schengen acquis. Legal acts setting out the conditions for entry into the Schengen Area are now made by majority vote in the EU's legislative bodies. New EU member states do not sign the Schengen Agreement as such, instead being bound to implement the Schengen rules as part of the pre-existing body of EU law, which every new entrant is required to accept.[citation needed ]

This situation means that non-EU Schengen member states have few formally binding options to influence the shaping and evolution of Schengen rules; their options are effectively reduced to agreeing or withdrawing from the agreement. However, consultations with affected countries are conducted prior to the adoption of particular new legislation.

In 2016, border controls were temporarily reintroduced in seven Schengen countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Poland, and Sweden) in response to the European migrant crisis.

Portugal reintroduced checks several times along its border with Spain, during the UEFA Euro 2004 championships and when Portugal hosted the NATO 2010 Lisbon summit. Portugal also reintroduced border checks from 10 May 2017 to 14 May 2017, during Pope Francis's visit to Fátima, Portugal.

Border controls were reintroduced throughout the area during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 8 December 2022 the Justice and Home Affairs Council voted to admit Croatia to the Schengen Area, but rejected Bulgaria and Romania. Austria and the Netherlands voted against the inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania, with Austria claiming that there had been a rapid increase in the number of migrants using the West Balkan route to enter the EU illegally. On 30 December 2023 the EU agreed to include Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen Area, with Austria no longer vetoing the enlargement of the area. Air and sea ports will no longer conduct border checks from 31 March 2024, while the end of land border checks will require further discussions.

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The Schengen Agreement ( SHENG-ən , Luxembourgish: ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the ten member states of the then European Economic Community.

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The Disney security is simple - they have metal scanners for everyone to walk through as they enter the Disney Parks and bag scanners for people with bags. The security doesn’t seem to be armed with weapons but do have attack dogs which are scary.

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The Schengen agreement was signed in 1985 but didn't take effect until 1995, the agreement abolished many of the EU internal borders which allowed passport free movement across countries.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13194723

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The security for Disneyland is very visible, you can't enter the grounds without going through the search arches at the entrance. Some security measures are not shared with the public because they may compromise the effectiveness. The park has uniformed police officers who also have specially trained dogs to help patrol the park. They also randomly select guests at the entrance for a secondary screening.
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/faq/parks/security-procedures/

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Paris and London are very popular in regards to tourism which makes them a bigger target for crime (Terrorism). The security has been increased due to the recent attacks, this can be from armed police officers patrolling the street or increased use of CCTV. Pickpocketing is very common in Paris which is why tourists are alerted to take extra care, they have increased patrolling officers around the city to lower the risk of another attack.

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The Public Services can be affected both negatively and positively, they may go through harder training to ensure that they have the correct skills to deal with breaches to the security. A positive effect is that they will be provided with the necessary equipment and support to allow them to deal with incidents effectively. If the public services are able to work effectively then the public will feel a lot safer.

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Disneyland Paris incorporates  a more comprehensive approach to security that includes measures that are visible and others that are not so visible. The full capabilities of Disneyland Paris' security is never really discussed in proper detail as it could jeopardize their effectiveness in catching those intending to do harm to person or property.

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Both major cities have seen a large increase in security since terror attacks such as London Bridge and the combined attacks in Paris a couple of years ago.  London however in comparison to Paris has  a considerably larger amount of CCTV cameras with an estimated 500,000 cameras throughout the city, compared to Paris which has only roughly tens of thousands in total.

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In the UK, austerity cuts to all the Uniformed Public Services have had some positive and negative impacts, mostly negative. The London Met police however are the least affected as the government knows how important they are in safeguarding city of London. The cuts have mostly affected the moral rural parts of the UK.

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The current threat levels in Paris will be similar if not the same as that of London. This is due to the recent high profile terrorist attacks in both capitals and in other parts of the UK and France such as Manchester and Nice.

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Despite Brexit, The UK and EU will still cooperate between authorities in order to maintain a safe border between the UK and France.
(Useful link to information regarding the Lords' take on future security arrangements between the UK and EU)

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This is what the search tents look like. Everyone entering the Disney Village or the parks must go through one of these to get in.

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Paris security has developed since the last time we visited Paris in March 2017. Last time we were able to park the bus literally underneath the eiffel tower but now those roads are closed because of the recent Terrorist attacks. Another change around the eiffel tower is the pedestrian area has been boarded up which also wasn’t there last year.

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The British and French authorities have managed to flaw many attempted terror attacks and other criminal activities  in recent months and in the greater past. However some terrorist attacks and other crimes are so random that there is little the authorities can do to prevent them.

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The public services in the UK, despite being faced with multiple cuts and other changes, is still revered for its professionalism and discretion when dealing with potentially fatal situations. French public services share some traits of their British counterparts, but it seems the French government relies more on its military to serve and protect in times of higher threat levels to the nation than the police service. After the Paris attacks in 2015, soldiers were active all over Paris acting in security roles. Similar actions have been taken by the British government in the past with the military being called in to support the many armed police officers in London, but still not to such an extent as what is going on in Paris as the police in the UK still take on the more front line roles.

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currently, the threat level for Britain has been taken down a bit by MI5, they have put our threat level to moderate instead of substantial.
France has a different threat level rating system than us, there's is called 'Vigipirate', and in their grading system they are on red, which is the 2nd highest level out of 4.
From the two different threat level ratings I would say that France has a higher threat level than Britain because ours has been taken down by a level, while France is one step away from their highest threat level rating.

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This map shows the border lines between France, Germany and Spain. Because France is a landlocked country they have to have these borders to split themselves from these other countries unlike The UK which only has sea borders and borders within their airports also.

The Schengen Agreement is a treaty which has made Europe's Schengen area created to mainly get rid of borders across Europe as European citizens can go to these countries with ease reducing the need for these borders however they are still some in place in France to stop people who are not in the EU coming in freely.

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In Disney they use search tents to search through peoples bags before they enter the park, have random screenings using metal detectors on guests before they come in. They also employ security officers to go around the park who are specially trained in hazard detection also.

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Paris and London both receive a large amount of tourists and both hold a large population with London having a slightly larger one. This therefore makes them very busy and large economical gainers for each country which can then lead to terrorist attacks taking place because of this. Whilst London continues to be normal and still use things such as the bridge where people were ran over and killed but implement more safety such as bollards and keeping the parliament gates closed now also. Paris however has restricted some areas due to the terror attacks such as closing roads and footpaths near the Eiffel Tower to deter it's potential terrorist threat that is posseses.

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The effect of this on the public services is that there is more pressure put on them due to these attacks. This means that when having emergency calls about a potential threat they may use a lot more equipment and officers then before as they will want to deter this threat straight away but they can also be stretched as there has been a repeating pattern of these attacks been done with hardly any planning beforehand meaning that the public services have to look into these attacks much more to try and find the reason for the attacks and bring those involved to justice for their actions. there will also be more stress put on the NHS who have to deal with the public involved in these attacks and the damage they received either mentally or physically.

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The threat level currently graded by the MI5 is that the UK is at a severe level of threat from international terrorism meaning that they believe another attack on the UK is imminent. This is due to the recent string of attacks that have happened up and down the UK so the government want the public and public services to be aware of the level and so that they are prepared for it.

However, In Paris and France the threat level is currently at 'sécurité renforcée — risque d'attentat' (enhanced security due to risk of attack). This is their second highest level and so is one level below the Uk threat level but they are still going to make sure that they are prepared for any further attacks as best as they can be.

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Although Britain is coming out of the EU they will still keep their same border agreements with other EU countries to maintain safety and security within their borders.

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The UK is prepared for terror attacks quite well as they have a large web of intelligence they use to their advantage which is shown when the head of MI5 said that in 2016 nine terrorist attacks where prevented from this. They also have special units to deal with these terrorist threats such as the CTSFO (counter terrorist special firearms officer) who are specially trained to deal with terrorists and to stop or reduce their impact as much as they can.

France are also prepared for terrorist attacks as they have well sought out plans and laws to deal with them whilst also having their own police unit similar to the CTSFO called GIGN (Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale or National Gendarmerie Intervention Group) who will deal with these attacks when they happen

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The UK and France have similar public services as they are both very well prepared and work well within their budgets that are given to them even though the UK's is forever decreasing. However, France do focus much more on using their military within France then the UK do as the UK's military is usually away defending the country apart from severe situations such as is severe flooding occurs. France also have many more armed police officers also and use their army sometimes to control areas instead of the UK who use their police in these incidents.

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The Schengen agreement is a treaty between most of the EU states agreeing for open borders between countries allowing better trade and travel in the EU. Recently the Schengen increased the migrant crisis due to little to no border checks

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In Disney they employ a tactic of searching bags for illegal contraband with the help of search tents as well as sniffer dogs for gunpowder/drugs.
They also have security which is there to protect people and the staff from threats.

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Paris as well as London are megacities as well as HUGE tourist hotspots which make them prime targets for terrorists so both capitals have to have a lot of as well as effective public service men and women. Both capitals have increased camera surveillance after the terror attacks as well as armed officers. Paris on the other hand has French soldiers guarding some parts of the cities due to a very high risk of migrant harassment and Islamic terror attacks such as Charlie Hebdo.

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The effect on the public services in these megacities is that they need to train more for more dangerous situations such as terror attacks. the services all need to co-operate as well like the military, border force, paramedics, fire and rescue services as well as Police all need to work tightly together so that citizens and tourists are all safe while they are there. This means that any threat to public security is taken extremely seriously.

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The Schengen agreement covers 4.312 million km²

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According to the MI5 the current threat level is:
https://www.mi5.gov.uk/threat-levels
"The current threat level for international terrorism in the UK is SEVERE."
This means that there is heightened security and on an attack on the UK right now is Highly likely.

In France however,

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Before you go into the Disney parks or village you have to get through security. There are dogs there and you will have to be screened. You have to put all of your metals in the tray and bags through the screens.

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The security in Disney includes you putting things like wallet in a basket to ensure it wont affect the detector when you go through the detector. You also have to purchase a Disneyland ticket which you need to scan to go into Disney.

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Since Paris and London are the capital cities of their country they get a lot of tourists visiting them. Due to the huge amount of population in these areas terrorist like to target their attack on these areas to create the most damage to the public. After the recent terrorists attacks on both cities there have been increased security measures taken

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Due to the increase in terrorism attacks it is important that security is being increased and improved in order to protect citizens of both countries. The public services may create more training programmers to counter terrorism which means money will be needed in order to fund these programs so the budget for the security of country will increase..

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The threat levels for both countries is high. This is because of the recent terrorist attacks that happened in both countries

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Britain has decided to leave the EU however they will still keep the original border agreements with the other countries in the EU to maintain safety in their borders.

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The schengen agreement was signed in 1985 and for the purpose of abolishing borders to allow more efficient trade among est the countries and allowing EU citizens to travel more smoothly.

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Both countries is prepared to counter potential terrorists attacks for example the police service in Uk have done things like creating adverts that go on the media for example the TV which tells the public what to do if they think a terrorist attack is being planned or any information that links about terrorism

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The Schengen Agreement  is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the ten member states of the then European Economic Community.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement

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Disney parks employ over 1200 security professionals who patrol the grounds and control  multiple access points around the park 24/7. They jobs also include checking bags, helping lost people etc. Working alongside the uniformed security are the plain clothed security, who patrol the grounds looking for anyone acting suspiciously.

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Both public services are very important in their roles and both are used similar in both countries. The different would be that France like to used their military more often as after the terrorist incident in Paris soldiers from the military were sent to for security reasons for the public. Uk also use some soldiers but mainly use armed police officers to guard the public.

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London being the Capital city of England and Paris the Capital of France, they are both high target places, we know this already because of the multiple attacks on Paris in 2015/2016 and 2017, whereas the attacks on London started after Paris. the security measures have been raised in both London and Paris by using both military intelligence and the police to prevent further attacks.

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the impact on the public services include having to improve the training of the Police including more training for intelligence, surveillance, armed police, counter terrorism, bomb dogs/squad etc. This means more time and money being put into training the Police, fire service and ambulance service.

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In light of the recent attacks in both Cities the threat level is high.

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Britain is leaving the EU although they will continue to work with France to maintain the safety of our borders.

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both countries have used different methods to help people survive attacks and to counter terrorism as best they can, methods like social media and TV adverts to inform people on what to do in a terrorist attack .

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the differences between the roles of the public services in the terror attacks/threats, are that in France the Military played a big role in successfully stopping attacks before/after they had started.
whereas in the UK the Police played the h=biggest role in the stopping of the London terror attack, however the military helped the Police.
In both countries the main public services (the Ambulance service, the Fire service and the Police) were all used.

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The Schengen Area is comprised of 26 countries that have agreed to allow free movement of their citizens within this area as a single country. Of the 26 countries bound by the Schengen agreement, 22 are part of the EU and the other 4 are part of the EFTA (European Free Trade Association).https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/
the 26 countries are  Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

News article

Bulgaria and Romania push to join EU's Schengen Area

http://www.dw.com/en/bulgaria-and-romania-push-to-join-eus-schengen-area/a-42665840

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The same Border agreements will still be in place for Britain regardless of its status as an EU member state or not. This means the UK will still have the open borders agreement with the Rep. of Ireland.

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The UK has prepared by increasing surveillance in major cities as well as closely monitoring its borders and increasing the amount of armed officers.

France has started to put its military in Paris and other large cities to prevent terrorism as well as migrant crime.

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the main question that the Disney security gets and their answer of this question
Q. What security measures do you have in place at Disneyland Paris?
A. Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our guests and Cast Members. We have a long-term partnership with the French authorities in the area of public safety. Security measures onsite have been strengthened. Some of our measures are visible for guests (e.g., bag checks and security personnel) and others are not. We do not disclose all security measures as doing so may compromise their effectiveness.

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The French officers (though more are armed) have started to rely more on military presence in Paris. Unlike the UK which has not used its military in its cities to keep the peace and order in its cities and population. France however, have had more and more deadly terror attacks so using the military seems to have only heightened the tension and worsened the situation.

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Paris terror attacks: Is London safer than the French capital? news  article

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/paris-terror-attacks-london-safer-6839816

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news article on UK  prepared for security
British security services are preparing a new crackdown on terrorism as the threat against the UK continues to grow
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=uk+country+prepared+secruity&oq=uk+country+prepared+secruity&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64l3.13469j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#
from independent

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the comparison of the UK and France military in 2013

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In France however, the threat level is currently at 'sécurité renforcée — risque d'attentat' (enhanced security due to risk of attack). This is the second highest threat level so they are expecting  more terror attacks to come.