The Schengen Agreement

The Schengen Agreement

The Schengen Agreement was originally created independently of the European Union, in part due to the lack of consensus amongst EU members, and in part because those ready to implement the idea did not wish to wait for others to be ready to join. Especially United Kingdom and Denmark could not join the union, but Denmark joined later when Norway and other Nordic countries were allowed.

The Schengen Agreement was signed in Schengen, Luxembourg, on 15 June 1985, by Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Since Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg already had passport-free travel, the border tripoint of Luxembourg, Germany and France was considered a suitable place. The exact place of signing was onboard the boat Princesse Marie-Astrid on the Moselle River, near Schengen.

The Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement, signed on 19 June 1990 by the five countries in Schengen, put the agreement into practice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Agreement

Schengen Member Countries

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden