The extension of the Schengen area

The Schengen area was developed by five original member countries with an agreement signed in June 1985. After the passport-free area was arranged was signed an extra convention five years later, according to which the internal borders of the member states were abolished and one single external border was formed. From then on the immigration checks for the Schengen area were carried out according to the identical procedures. Bulgaria aims to become a member of the Schengen area and is technically prepared for that. When this happen and Bulgaria becomes a member state of the Schengen agreement, the country will have to follow common rules in regards to the visas, the external borders, the right of asylum, etc. which regulation are adopted in order to allow the free movement of people within the territory of the member states.

The freedom of movement in the Schengen zone comes with certain compensatory measures, which come to reconcile security and freedom. These measures include improved cooperation, better coordination between the judicial authorities and the police, measures for safeguarding of the internal security and special measures for fighting the organized crime. With all that in mind, the Schengen area soon set up the so called SIS or the Schengen Information System. This is a special database that is used by the authorities of all member countries of the Schengen agreement. Thanks to that sophisticated system, the authorities of the member countries of Schengen are able to exchange information on people and goods.