BAKGRUNN (fra Rådets pressemelding 13.12.2011, engelsk utgave)

Liechtenstein to join Schengen
On 13 December, the Council formally adopted the decision making Liechtenstein the 26th member of the Schengen area. On 19 December, border controls with that country will be lifted.

Liechtenstein will now be part of Schengen - and it will also gain full access to the Schengen Information System (SIS), a common database for border, customs, police and migration authorities. Strict data protection rules apply to the SIS.

Since the introduction of Schengen cooperation, travelling has become much easier in Europe. Nationals from an EU member state as well as any non-EU citizen legally residing in the EU can travel freely throughout the Schengen area without being checked at the air, sea or land borders. Tourists arriving from non-EU countries only have to present their passport and their visa (if they need one) once, at the external border of entry. In 2009, almost 10 million Schengen visas were issued worldwide.

The Schengen provisions include common rules on visa and asylum, controls at external borders and cross-border police cooperation, for instance on organised crime involving trafficking, drugs, stolen cars and missing persons. These rules must be observed by all members. Each Schengen country is regularly evaluated to make sure that the Schengen acquis is applied correctly by everyone.

Currently, 22 EU member states participate in Schengen cooperation, as well as four non-EU countries: Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The next acceding countries will be Romania and Bulgaria. Three EU member states (Cyprus, Ireland and the United Kingdom) are not part of the Schengen area, although they participate in some of the Schengen rules.