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Post by auntieannie on Feb 4, 2009 22:39:57 GMT
Yippie! As of mid-December 2008, Switzerland is part of the Schengen area. I bet it changed your lives.  Okay, I'll bite -- what does this mean? You are obviously happy about it. Why is it important, please? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2009 22:47:54 GMT
Maybe it will appear less often as the empty white hole on maps of the EU, at least when they talk about Schengen!
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Post by happytraveller on Feb 5, 2009 6:42:46 GMT
It is now a bit easier to smuggle cheap food from Germany.
(Not that I should ever get caught, I work for customs...)
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Post by auntieannie on Feb 6, 2009 13:53:27 GMT
Why did Bixa's question appear in my post?
Anyway, Bixabella, There are agreements between EU members and other (I think geographically european) countries that aren't or weren't part of the EU (European Union). Ever cautious Switzerland had agreements with EU, but wasn't part of the Schengen agreements until recently... and this coming weekend could end in tears, if Swiss people vote No to yet another agreement with the EU, pertaining to the free circulation of people.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2009 14:03:14 GMT
Why did Bixa's question appear in my post? It's because we 'helpers' get confused sometimes - there is the 'quote' button, but also the 'modify' button that can be used (yes, a scary thought, I know) and I also have been known to click on the wrong one when I am trying to reply to someone. Don't worry about us secretly modifying any post, however -- as you can see, any modification leaves a message at the bottom about who was there last. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2009 14:11:40 GMT
Bixa, the even more striking aspect of being in the Schengen zone is that the border posts are removed and you go between the various countries as though it were just one big country -- same thing for flights between the countries, which are counted as domestic flights. The Schengen zone is in blue. The green countries are on the waiting list. And those pink island countries are renegade members of the EU that don't want to join.  There are advantages and drawbacks to the system -- for example, long term tourists hate it, because you can only stay in the zone without a visa for 90 days out of any 180 day period. In the old days, people could stay 90 days in each country. However, for people who need visas anyway, the visa is valid for the entire zone and not just one country, which really simplifies things for a lot of people, too. |
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Post by BigIain on Feb 6, 2009 23:35:10 GMT
lol. Renegade Island countries!!!!
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 7, 2009 5:57:43 GMT
(Gad ~~ sorry, Auntie! I really am an oblivious jerk.)
Wow, here is something else I didn't know about Europe. That is a huge contiguous area. What are the Schengen agreements?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2009 6:04:56 GMT
Schengen is a tiny village in Luxembourg sitting at the intersection of the Luxembourg-French-German borders. That's where the agreement was signed. More than you want to know about all of the specific details here. |
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Post by bazfaz on Feb 20, 2009 17:16:31 GMT
Does this mean that Swiss customs won't check how much wine we are bringing into Switzerland when we visiting Ateach52?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2009 20:52:15 GMT
In principle, there will be no border check. That does not mean that the legal limit has been abandoned, however. Mobile customs units patrol all the roads of Europe, but they are mostly looking for major smuggling about which they have been tipped off.
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Post by bazfaz on Feb 20, 2009 22:19:20 GMT
Ateach said that a few years ago she was crosscountry skiing with her husband up by the French border when a Swiss customs officer on skis stopped them for a check.
Now there's a good job.
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