221. Germany is a member of the Schengen Agreement. What does that mean?

Answer options

1. Germans can travel to many European countries without passport control.
2. All people can enter Germany without identity checks.
3. Germans can travel to every country without passport control.
4. Germans can pay with the euro in every country.

Explanation

The Schengen Agreement, incorporated into EU law as the Schengen acquis since 1999, abolishes systematic person checks at the internal borders of Schengen states and establishes common external border controls under the Schengen Borders Code (Regulation (EU) 2016/399). It therefore allows, as a rule, travel without passport controls between most European Schengen countries, though internal checks may be temporarily reintroduced for public policy or security reasons (Arts. 25 ff. SBC). Schengen does not create worldwide passport-free travel and must be distinguished from the monetary union (Eurozone) and from EU free movement and residence rights (Art. 21 TFEU). In constitutional terms, this reflects Germany’s transfer of certain sovereign powers to the EU within the limits of the Basic Law and the jurisprudence of the Federal Constitutional Court.