Schengen, an area of total freedom? In your dreams! The member countries try to ensure their security with the Schengen Information System. Check it out!

A-Z: S for surveillance

Schengen is an area of freedom  that covers almost the entire EU.

To ensure their security,  the Schengen countries created the SIS,

Within the Schengen area,  there are no border controls.

They've disappeared almost  completely from within the EU.

You can travel almost anywhere within  Europe without showing your passport.

The customs posts on the roads  are empty, they're more like museums.

Controls at ports and airports  have also been abolished.

The Schengen area comprises  25 European countries:

22 EU Member States  and three other countries -

They've abolished  the borders between them,

and set up an information system  to beef up security.

Within Schengen you can travel more  freely from one country to another,

The countries want to ensure  the security of the area.

Their police, customs  and judicial services cooperate.

They carry out controls  within the countries.

Customs posts have been replaced  by mobile units

which intercept people, vehicles  and objects sought by the police.

Specialised teams can step in  at any time - on the roads,

The surveillance of external borders  has been reinforced to combat crime

To enter the Schengen area,  foreigners must apply for a visa,

for a maximum three-month stay,  from one of the Schengen countries.

The decision it takes  to grant or refuse a visa

Behind these security measures  there is a brain: the SIS,

It enables the exchange of data  about people and things

so that the police can obtain  information about citizens

and know, for example, if  a person is wanted, reported missing

or a if an object is stolen or suspicious.

So in principle there should be  no information about me!

The Schengen Information System  must link up 25 countries

It's becoming a lot  for one brain to handle,

so the countries  want to modernise the SIS

to embed new data types  like digital fingerprints,

but also to boost their security  and extend their scope for action

What happens to all this data  about the citizens?

Something to ask the MEPs  who follow the issue closely.

In the meantime, find out more about  the Schengen area from Eureka. Bye!