Search Results for: Schengen

The Schengen Convention

A PDF of this resource can be accessed here. Introduction The Schengen Convention allows the free movement of European citizens across national borders without the need for visas or passport checks. This was designed to be a simple liberalising measure to promote trade and integration between different nationalities. However, given increases in levels of immigration… [Read More]

Schengen Area Map

Introduction These pages contain maps showing EU membership, enlargement and the adoption of key policies. At the foot of the page there are also statistical tables and graphs, for use as quick-reference tools. Want to know the government debt of Italy, expressed as a percentage of GDP? This is the place to look! The Schengen… [Read More]

Schengen dispute continues

As an agreement on the EU budget for 2014-2020 finally takes shape, the on-going dispute about the Schengen Convention remains unresolved. At a Council meeting on June 7th 2012, the European Union’s home affairs ministers unanimously decided to establish a new Schengen Evaluation Mechanism in response to concerns about border security, which became particularly acute… [Read More]

Schengen enlargement shaping up for March 2012

Earlier this week, Finland announced it no longer opposes Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the Schengen zone in 2012, providing their entry is managed in two-phases. No doubt in pre-Eurozone crisis days Finland’s decision to drop their veto would have been closely analysed, but the fact that it has only captured limited attention should not be… [Read More]

Shackled by Schengen – time for a policy rethink?

The civil strife in North Africa is having a dramatic effect on one of the EU’s most ambitious, yet controversial, policies – the Schengen agreement. With unprecedented numbers of migrants arriving at its southern borders, the EU must revamp its Schengen policy or risk fuelling tensions between member states.

EU Schengen Shambles

So far, 2011 is not proving to be a very decisive year for the EU. A month of mulling over Hungary’s untimely media clamp-downs, a series of vague statements urging ‘dialogue’ as the protests in North Africa escalate, and now, dithering over what to do with Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to the EU Schengen zone… [Read More]

The UK’s potential trillion euro counter-claim against the EU

High-stakes negotiations over Britain’s future liabilities to the EU should be entered with an ambitious counter-claim against the EU The UK should issue a counter-claim to the EU’s ‘Brexit Bill’ many times the sum being mooted by Michel Barnier if it is to get the best deal it can in negotiations over the divorce, a… [Read More]

EU External Relations

Introduction This series of factsheets deals with the way in which the European Union relates with the rest of the world. It includes information on the European defence and trade policy as well as a look at how the EU attempts to deal with other nations on the international stage. Diplomacy and Defence Common Foreign… [Read More]

The European Arrest Warrant (EAW)

A PDF of this resource can be accessed here. History Created in 2002, the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is a judicial decision issued by one member state to be carried out in another and enforced by the EU. It has been in use since 2004 and was designed to streamline the process of intra-EU extradition;… [Read More]

Policies

Introduction Policy factsheets focus on European policies that affect every member state in the EU. Many EU policies, especially the CAP and CFP, are controversial, and form critical areas of dispute between pro-Europeans and euro-sceptics. EU Budget EU Budget Overview EU Budget 2014 Agriculture and Food Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) Energy… [Read More]