Since 26 March 1995 the Schengen Agreement has been in force: There are no longer any checks on travelers at the borders between Germany, the Benelux countries, France, Spain and Portugal, but there are, however, stricter passport and customs checks at the outer frontiers. Once the corresponding preparations have been carried out, further EU states will also proceed in this manner.

The end of March 1996 marked the beginning of the Intergovernmental Conference in Turin to address the question of what reforms must be made in the cooperation among the states of the EU. This conference was successfully concluded on 16 and 1 7 June 1997 in Amsterdam, thus clearing the way for the whole of Europe to develop into a single zone of stability and growth through the admission of the Central and Eastern European states (CEE states) and Cyprus. The Treaty of Amsterdam significantly strengthens the European Union’s capacity to act in external and internal security matters and lays the foundations for resolute action in respect of the urgent problems of unemployment and the strengthening of the social policy component.