EU border law: the Schengen system

The so-called Schengen law deals with the European Union’s internal and external borders.

Migrants into the European Union (EU) need to cross the Union’s external borders. Over time, the EU has developed common border rules, including notably the so-called Schengen law. For the participating Member States, the Schengen law provides for the abolition of the Union’s internal borders, combined with measures to protect the external borders. Switzerland is associated to the EU system in this field.

After you have watched this video you may wish to reflect on either of the following two issues:

• Read the provisions of the Schengen Borders Code (SBC) on the temporary reintroduction of border controls that were just mentioned in the video. You find them in the ‘see also’ section (Art. 25 SBC et seq.). Thereafter, you may wish to reflect on what is your personal opinion on the legality of the individual measures taken by certain Member States.
• Reflect on how easy or difficult it is for asylum seekers to enter your country of origin. Do you know about the legal situation in your country? If not, how could you find out?

You may also read the texts in the ‘downloads’ section and get further information through the related links under ‘see also’.