On 14 June 1985, five politicians met on a boat in the town of Schengen, in Luxembourg, to sign an agreement to get rid of border checks between their countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and West Germany.

The Schengen Area now encompasses more than 450 million people and 29 countries in Europe.

Rachel Naylor speaks to Robert Goebbels, who was Luxembourg’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and one of the original five signatories.

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(Photo: Catherine Lalumière from France signs the Schengen Agreement, with Robert Goebbels next to her, on the left. Credit: Marcel Mochet / AFP via Getty Images)

The Schengen Agreement

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