page_title: Schengen Area
section_title: Coronavirus response in 2020
hierarchical_section_title: Schengen Area / Regulation of internal borders / Temporary border controls / Coronavirus response in 2020
caption_attribution_description: English: Roadblocks and police vehicles at closed border between Germany and Poland in Lubieszyn during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
context_page_description: The Schengen Area is an area comprising 26 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. The area mostly functions as a single jurisdiction for international travel purposes, with a common visa policy. The area is named after the 1985 Schengen Agreement signed in Schengen, Luxembourg.
  Of the 27 EU member states, 22 participate in the Schengen Area. Of the five EU members that are not part of the Schengen Area, four—Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania—are legally obliged to join the area in the future, while the other one—Ireland—maintains an opt-out. The four European Free Trade Association member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, are not members of the EU, but have signed agreements in association with the Schengen Agreement. Three European microstates that are not members of the European Union but which are enclaves or semi-enclave within an EU member state—Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City—are de facto part of the Schengen Area.
  The Schengen Area has a population of almost 420 million people and an area of 4,312,099 square kilometres.
context_section_description: Although some European politicians did call for Europe's internal borders to be temporarily closed, the European Union decided in late February 2020 to turn down the idea of suspending the Schengen free travel area and introducing border controls with Italy. The deputy leader of the Swiss Ticino League, Lorenzo Quadri, criticized the decision: "It is alarming that the dogma of wide-open borders is considered a priority." United States President Donald Trump said the European Union had "failed to take the same precautions and restrict travel from China and other hot spots" as the U.S. had implemented.
  Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš stated in early March that "European countries cannot ban the entry of Italian citizens within the Schengen area. The only possible way is to have the Italian prime minister call on his fellow citizens to refrain from traveling to other countries of the European Union."
  After Slovakia, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Poland in mid-March announced complete closure of their national borders, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that "Certain controls may be justified, but general travel bans are not seen as being the most effective by the World Health Organization. Moreover, they have a strong social and economic impact, they disrupt people’s lives and business across the borders." Von der Leyen also apologised to Italy, amidst widespread discontent among Italians for the lack of solidarity shown by Europe. By the end of March 2020, almost all internal schengen borders had been closed to non-essential travel. By July 2020, most borders that were closed due to the coronavirus had been reopened.
caption: Roadblocks and police vehicles at the temporarily closed Germany-Poland border in Lubieszyn on 15 March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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