Context:
Recently, Kosovo secured visa-free access to the Schengen zone in Europe.
Schengen Zone:
- Also known as Schengen Area
- An area encompassing 27 European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their mutual borders
- Zone is created and named after the Schengan Agreement.
Schengen Agreement:
- A treaty – Signed in 1985 in Schengen and came into force in 1995.
- Signed by – France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands.
- Objective – Provide free movement in Schengen area by abolishing internal border checks.
- Membership – EU countries and Non-EU countries
- Countries under agreement –
- Most EU countries , except for Cyprus and Ireland
- Bulgaria and Romania became the newest Member States to join
- Non-EU States joined recently – Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein
- Parties – 27 countries
- Visa issued – For a short period under 90 days
- Benefits of visa –
- Freedom to travel to other European nations without any border checks.
- Schengen visa is the most visible symbol of European integration – Visa-free borderless travel and single currency adopted by 20 EU countries.
United Kingdom (UK) is a non-EU and non-Schengen Country.
Schengen:
- A small village in Luxemberg
- Bordering countries – France and Germany
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Consider the following pairs :
Regions often Reason for being in news: mentioned in news
1. North Kivu and Ituri: War between Armenia and Azerbaijan
2. Nagorno-Karabakh: Insurgency in Mozambique
3. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia: Dispute between Israel and Lebanon
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Answer: (d)
Explanation:
Regions often Reason for being in news: mentioned in news
1.Kivu and Ituri: A war between the Republic of Congo and Rwanda
2. Nagorno-Karabakh: War between Armenia and Azerbaijan
3. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia: Dispute between Ukraine and Russia
