{"id":21714,"date":"2019-11-02T11:04:20","date_gmt":"2019-11-02T15:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/?p=21714"},"modified":"2019-11-02T11:10:24","modified_gmt":"2019-11-02T15:10:24","slug":"taking-off-7-borders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/taking-off-7-borders\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Off #7: Borders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

[Image: Belgium (Brussels) airport entry passport stamp, per Wikipedia<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nH<\/span>ere’s how I’ve imagined getting around among the countries in the European Union: just like getting around among the states in the US. Y’know — walk across a narrow bridge and bam, there you are. Drive on an interstate highway, or the European equivalent, and keep your eyes peeled for the Welcome to the Next State!<\/span><\/em> billboard. And so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, it is like that. Kinda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest difference lies in the fact that you’re crossing international borders<\/em> — not mere political subdivisions of a single nation. The word “international” comes with teeth which the phrase “state-to-state” does not — specifically, the teeth bared to ward off excessive immigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nT<\/span>his post won’t address the pros and cons of immigration policies, in general or, specifically, one vs. another. The history and culture and politics and demographics of a country, after all, will drive its own such policies; some countries might by nature be more inclined to liberal policies, and some, to conservative (even xenophobic) ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a “union” of countries, now: what might that mean for plain old travel among the members?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Travel” (especially of the tourist sort) isn’t synonymous with “immigration,” of course. On the other hand, plainly, no more than a vague line separates the words’ connotations: if you travel<\/em> to Country X for a week, then move on, then sure, call it a vacation; but if your visit extends to, say, five years — then surely you might as well say you’ve immigrated<\/em> to X. But where’s the cutoff point?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given a natural desire to ease travel among them, the members of the EU must have struggled with reconciling their various answers to that question. Eventually, a substantial subset of them came up with a solution they could all live with — not a perfect, maybe even a grudging one, but a<\/em> solution. The solution is called the Schengen Convention<\/strong>. (The term comes from the name of the town in Luxembourg where the original agreement was signed.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roughly speaking, the Schengen area corresponds to the EU area — but the Venn-diagram circles don’t 100% overlap. At the moment, the EU comprises 28 countries; the Schengen area, 26. Here’s the Schengen list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Austria<\/td>Hungary<\/td>Norway<\/td><\/tr>
Belgium<\/td>Iceland<\/td>Poland<\/td><\/tr>
Czech Republic<\/td>Italy<\/td>Portugal<\/td><\/tr>
Denmark<\/td>Latvia<\/td>Slovakia<\/td><\/tr>
Estonia<\/td>Liechtenstein<\/td>Slovenia<\/td><\/tr>
Finland<\/td>Lithuania<\/td>Spain<\/td><\/tr>
France<\/td>Luxemburg<\/td>Sweden<\/td><\/tr>
Germany<\/td>Malta<\/td>Switzerland<\/td><\/tr>
Greece<\/td>Netherlands<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

(Note that most significantly missing from the list are the UK and Ireland: all the Schengen countries are on the Continent proper.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re a citizen of a Schengen country, great! Travel freely! Stay as long as like — anywhere in any of the others!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you — like The Missus and I — are not<\/em> Schengen citizens, then we’re bound by the Schengen rules for tourists. Most problematically, we’re subject to what might be called (maybe it even is<\/em> called, I dunno) the 90-in-180 rule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n