On 14 June 1985, five European politicians met on a boat in the town of Schengen, in Luxembourg, to sign an agreement to get rid of border checks between their countries.
On 14 June 1985, five politicians met on a boat in the town of Schengen, in Luxembourg, to sign an agreement to get rid of border checks between their countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and West .
The Schengen Area now encomes more than 450 million people and 29 countries in Europe.
Rachel Naylor speaks to Robert Goebbels, who was Luxembourg’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and one of the original five signatories.
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(Photo: Catherine Lalumière from signs the Schengen Agreement, with Robert Goebbels next to her, on the left. Credit: Marcel Mochet / AFP via Getty Images)