The Schengen Agreement between European Union member states is much talked about at the moment, with calls for its suspension — let's find out what it is and what it does.
The Schengen Treaty, named after the small Luxembourg town where it was signed on 14 June 1985, created the eponymous free movement area for people. It is one of the most important and effective peace agreements ever reached between sovereign states. Its entry into force meant that borders that were once impenetrable and insurmountable — described by British statesman Winston Churchill as the "iron curtain over Europe" at the end of the Second World War — have today disappeared. In exchange for the elimination of internal controls, however, countries whose borders face outwards — such as Italy, from 1990, Hungary or Spain — are required to put in place more stringent control measures.
Of the 26 countries that are part of it, 22 are also members of the European Union (EU). The other four are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Only two EU member states have not joined: Ireland and the United Kingdom. Then there are Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia and Romania, which are waiting for Schengen to enter into force for them as well.
The last "mass" entry into force took place in 2004, when Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Malta joined. An achievement that stirred deep emotions among those involved and among citizens. That year, for example, the border between Italy and Slovenia disappeared, making possible the symbolic reunification of Gorizia, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, with Nova Gorica.
In 2015, following the enormous flow of migrants who, from the East (in particular from Syria) and from the African continent, sought to enter the European Union, and after the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November, some countries decided to reintroduce border controls, citing the presence of "serious threats to public order and internal security" or "serious deficiencies relating to external border control". Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, France and Germany made use of the suspension clause provided for in the treaty, but everything should return to normal, unless renewed, by February.
European Union interior ministers are currently discussing the possibility of fully suspending the treaty for two years, but — barring extreme scenarios — it cannot be permanently abolished or substantially amended, as it would be necessary to invoke the "simplified revision" mechanism, which requires a unanimous vote in the relevant EU Council and fresh ratification by all member states.
All southern European countries are opposed to both abolition and the proposed two-year suspension, with Italy and Greece leading the way. Even though the end of Schengen is used as a "banner" by many nationalist and conservative parties that want no more immigrants in their countries, the reality is different. To give one example, without Schengen the migrants who arrive by sea in Italy would remain trapped within our borders, owing to the physical and legal frontiers that would prevent these people from moving to northern European countries to find work or reunite with their families. Furthermore, restoring border controls would entail enormous costs, between the physical reintroduction of barriers and the training of dedicated personnel — to say nothing of the disruption that would be suffered by the transport sector and by those who work in border cities, the so-called cross-border commuters, who are particularly numerous between Italy and Switzerland.