Station „Free travelling?!“

Titel: Free travelling?! /
Topic:
Travelling in Europe
_The Schengen Agreement
_Directives about air traffic
_European borders
Station: travel agency, airport or something similar
Material: no material necessary, maybe a card showing the Schengen-Area and its borders
Implementation:
If it´s an international or at least a nationwide seminar, you can start with the question what means of transport the participants used to travel to the seminar. How many of them had to cross a border? Did they need to identify themselves by showing a passport; did anyone need a Visa (if you are working with local groups you can ask for their last travel experiences and destinations)?
By referring to the examples of the participants the Schengen Area and the possibilities for European citizens, but also the “borders” for people with the “wrong” citizenship are explained and different regulations for Schengen members and non-members discussed (The topic is especially interesting for groups with different nationalities).
In this relation you can also talk about the policy for asylum seekers and how they are treated by the European Law.
Afterwards the participants have the task to study the shop windowor the advertisements for offersof the flight companies and try to find out, of which factors the prices are composed of. They should also think about aspects of travelling that are important for them as consumers.
Then the teamer is informing the group about different European directives, which ensure more transparency and securities for the rights of passengers.
Background information for the teamer:
Schengen (Agreement and Convention)
On 14th of June 1985 the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed the Schengen Agreement (Schengen is a small town in Luxembourg on the border to France and the Netherlands) on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders.
On 19th of June 1990 the Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement was signed. Its key points relate to measures designed to create a common area of security and justice, following the abolition of common border checks. Specifically it is concerned with
_harmonizing provisions relating to entry into and short stays in the Schengen area by non-EU citizens (uniform Schengen visa),
_asylum matters (determining in which Member State an application for asylum may be submitted),
_measures to combat cross-border drugs-related crime,
_police cooperation, and
_Cooperation among Schengen states on judicial matters.
The Agreement and the Convention as well as the related agreements and rules together form the "Schengen acquis". Since 01.05.1999, this has formed part of the institutional and legal framework of the European Union by virtue of a protocol to the Treaties.
The Schengen agreements have been extended over time: Italy signed them in 1990, Spain and Portugal in 1991, Greece in 1992, Austria in 1995, Finland and Sweden in 1996, Denmark also in 1996, but under a special arrangement, and the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia in 2007. Ireland and the United Kingdom are only partial participants in the Schengen acquis, since their border controls have been maintained.
Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania also apply only parts of the Schengen acquis, as a decision of the Council of the European Union is still required before controls at their borders can be lifted.
Four non-Community countries also belong to the Schengen area, though they only have a limited role in decision-taking: Iceland and Norway since 1996 and Switzerland and Liechtenstein since 2008.
(more information can be found on the websites below)
Regulations about air traffic:
Some EU regulations ensure more transparency for consumers, so that flight companies for example have to declare the final flight costs on their advertisement including taxes, safety and kerosene fee etc.
In the last years no-frills airlines influenced the prices and offers for consumers. Travelling became a lot cheaper for many air-traffic routes.
An intensive control by the European Union is preventing that unfit planesare used. Planes in a bad condition and their airlines don´t get any permission for landing within the EU, for these cases the EU has a „black list“.
Furthermore the EU directed some air passengers’ rights in case things go wrong. For example passengers may not be charged a higher price for a ticket because of their nationality or where they are buying the ticket from.
Secondly, they also have rights concerning delays, cancellations and overbooking that prevent them from boarding …
… and applies if they are:
  • leaving the EU with any airline, or
  • arriving in the EU with a carrier registered in the EU (or Iceland, Norway or Switzerland)
Sources:

 Schengen_node. html#doc480968bodyText1