2025Construction of Europe - First Day Cover

Schengen - at the heart of Europe
40th anniversary of the Schengen Agreement & the return of the historic ship “Marie-Astrid”
On 14 June 1985, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed the Schengen Agreement in the small Luxembourg border town Schengen at the tripoint between Luxembourg, Germany, and France. By signing this Agreement, the five countries committed to gradually dismantling border controls between one another. The Agreement was later supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement, which, after signature in 1990, finally entered into force in 1995, enabling the complete abolition of internal border controls within the Schengen Area. Today, the Schengen Area is made up of 29 countries.