40 years of Schengen: big picnic in German Jahrndorf!

40 years of Schengen: big picnic in German Jahrndorf!

Deutsch Jahrndorf, Österreich - On June 17, 2025, German Jahrndorf celebrated a very special event: the 40th anniversary of the Schengen zone. In bright weather, numerous participants from Austria, Slovakia and Hungary were found in the sculpture park to celebrate this significant achievement. Despite the small trees and the limited shadow, the mood was great. A cozy picnic was organized there with regional delicacies such as Guglhupf, Treska - a Slovak fish spread - and Hungarian pogats. reports that those present in Europe freely. The Hungarian Kristof expressed his enthusiasm for this meeting, while Jacub from Slovakia praised the pleasant atmosphere and the conversations.

Karoline Adam, co-president of Volt Austria, also took part in the celebration and emphasized the importance of such common events that promote constant cohesion within Europe. She announced that they wanted to come together annually in the future and referred to the growth of the trees in the park, which could offer numerous shadow places until the next event.

Schesegen zone: a real progress

But what exactly is the Schengen zone? On June 14, 1985, the Schengen Agreement in Schengen, Luxembourg, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg was signed. The aim was to gradually reduce controls to internal borders to promote the growing together in Europe. The Schengen implementation agreement came into force in 1995 and allowed the abolition of the person controls at the internal borders, except in exceptional cases. The Federal Center for Political Education informs that the Schengen area currently includes 29 countries, including almost all EU countries, while Ireland and Cyprus have not joined for various reasons. Croatia only became a member in 2023, while Bulgaria and Romania, which have been fulfilling the criteria since 2011, are waiting for their accession. From January 2025 you will also be full members of the Schengen zone ( bpb.de ).

After 40 years of Schengen, the balance sheet is astonishing: over 1.25 billion trips on internal borders are undertaken annually. Although controls have been broken down, states may introduce temporary controls in times of crisis. This happened, among other things, due to the migration crisis and later also during the Covid 19 pandemic. It is important to the European Commission to consider the introduction of such controls as the last means and to bring alternative measures such as targeted police controls or increased cooperation between the countries. Das Europäische Parlament hat sich bereits mehrfach gegen die häufige Wiedereinführung von Grenzkontrollen ausgesprochen, da diese den freien Personenverkehr innerhalb der EU behindern könnten ( europarl.europa.eu ).

In the current political situation, Germany has temporarily introduced checks at the borders to Austria and other neighboring countries due to security concerns and an increasing number of irregular entry. The debate about the legal status of these measures is in full swing and shows that new challenges are due 40 years after the introduction of the Schengen Agreement. Nevertheless, the anniversary in German Jahrndorf hope that the idea of ​​cooperation and free mobility will remain alive in Europe.