Schengen

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Schengen, Luxembourg, March 2004 © Nicolas Righetti/Rezo

Countryside around Schengen, Luxembourg, March 2004 © Nicolas Righetti/Rezo

Plaque marking the signing of the Schengen agreement, Luxembourg, March 2004 © Nicolas Righetti/Rezo

Swiss border guards carrying out a check, Diepoldsau, canton St Gallen, September 2008 © Peter Klaunzer/Keystone Keystone

Police officer with a sniffer dog examining a car, Dresden, Germany, February 2008 © Matthias Rietschel/AP/Keystone Keystone

The Czech Republic is part of the Schengen Area. German-Czech border crossing, December 2007 © Armin Weigel/EPA/Keystone Keystone

German-Polish border crossing at Ahlbeck-Swinemünde, December 2007 © Tobias Schwarz/Reuters Reuters

Motorway border crossing at Swiecko near Frankfurt on the Oder, July 2008 © Sven Kaestner/AP/Keystone Keystone

A Hungarian border police officer looks for illegal immigrants, Roeszke, 180km south of Budapest, June 2008 © Bela Szandelszky/AP/Keystone© Keystone

Border between Switzerland and Germany at Rheinfelden, August 2008 © Martin Ruetschi/Keystone Keystone

Checks at Diepoldsau, on the border between Switzerland and Austria, December 2004 © Dominic Büttner/pixsil.com Pixsil

Schellenberg, Switzerland: unmanned border point between Switzerland and Austria, December 2004 © Dominic Büttner/pixsil.com pixsil

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Switzerland joins the Schengen Area: Checks on individuals at the national frontiers are now a thing of the past.

The end of systematic checks on people entering and leaving the country at border crossings could lead to increased police checks in border areas. But the Schengen agreement will have no effect on the transfer of goods as Switzerland is not part of the EU customs union.