CHAPTER I

Internal borders may be crossed at any point without a border check on persons, irrespective of their nationality, being carried out. The abolition of border control at internal borders shall not affect: the exercise of police powers by the competent authorities of the Member States under national law, insofar as the exercise of those powers does not have an effect equivalent to border checks; that shall also apply in border areas. Within the meaning of the first sentence, the exercise of police powers may not, in particular, be considered equivalent to the exercise of border checks when the police measures: do not have border control as an objective, are based on general police information and experience regarding possible threats to public security and aim, in particular, to combat cross-border crime, are devised and executed in a manner clearly distinct from systematic checks on persons at the external borders, are carried out on the basis of spot-checks; security checks on persons carried out at ports and airports by the competent authorities under the law of each Member State, by port or airport officials or carriers, provided that such checks are also carried out on persons travelling within a Member State; the possibility for a Member State to provide by law for an obligation to hold or carry papers and documents; the obligation on third-country nationals to report their presence on the territory of any Member State pursuant to the provisions of Article 22 of the Schengen Convention. Member States shall remove all obstacles to fluid traffic flow at road crossing-points at internal borders, in particular any speed limits not exclusively based on road-safety considerations. At the same time, Member States shall be prepared to provide for facilities for checks in the event that internal border controls are reintroduced.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-14 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.