SCHENGEN

Schengen is a small village in the wine-growing part of Luxembourg close up to the French and German borders. It was there that one of the most radical agreements of modern times was signed in 1985. The series of Schengen Agreements have abolished the need for passports when travelling between the different European states that have signed up to them.

Passports are a relatively new phenomenon. In the Middle Ages travel was a hazardous business, and merchants took their chances. Local magnates tried to exact tolls and such like for using the roads, but there was no systematic control of documents. Officers of states at war were allowed to travel across enemy territory when the armies were not campaigning (the rank and file had to stay put), and bigwigs such as Kings and Emperors issued safe-conducts (which were not always respected). But the whole system relied mainly on chivalry's code of honour.

The First World War changed all of that. Nationalism had been whipped into a fury, and passports - and their associated controls - became an ordinary part of international travel. Yet no sooner had they become ubiquitous, than countries began to think of ways to try and dismantle them. The U.K. and the Republic of Ireland have always had relaxed border relations (except in Northern Ireland). And in 1952, the Nordic Passport Union allowed free travel between Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, even after three of them later joined the EU and two didn't.

The Schengen Agreements continue that trend. The original five signatories were (West) Germany, France and the Benelux countries, but they now include 22 of the 27 EU Member States, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The agreements were outside the EU framework, since there was no consensus for them at the time; but the Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 brought them within (though the U.K., Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus remain outside).

Schengen is thought-provoking, since it highlights one of the tensions of the modern world. On the one hand, terrorist actions have led to increased controls and security measures, notably at airports, and handed Governments powers - sometimes draconian - to curtail their citizens' freedoms. On the other hand, Schengen has shown that, at least in one forum, those controls are not needed; intelligence cooperation and surveillance technology are sufficient. Countries that are within the Schengen bloc do not appear to suffer more from terrorist activity than countries (notably the U.K.) that are outside it. In this area of life, perception appears to be all.

Walter Blotscher