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Schengen treaty

The Schengen treaty is an agreement originally signed in March 1995 by seven European Union countries. Schengen is a small town in Luxembourg.

More countries have joined the treaty over the past years, and at present (February 2003), there are 15 Schengen countries, all in Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden. The collected territories of these countries are known as the Schengen area.

The goal of the treaty is to end border checkpoints[?] and controls within the Schengen area.

All countries except Norway and Iceland are European Union members. Conversely, the United Kingdom and Ireland are in the European Union but are not parties to the Schengen treaty.