What you might need to know
This video includes AI-generated content produced under human supervision. Script by Dr Emmanuelle Schön-Quinlivan.
This video tells you a little more about freedom of movement of people across the European Union. This freedom of movement of people is really at the heart of the Single Market which the European Union has created. Another aspect of freedom of movement in Europe is the Schengen area which includes 29 countries, four of which are not in the EU – Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Cyprus and Ireland are two EU countries that are not in the Schengen area.
The Schengen area is a massive border-free zone without passport checks between member states. So you can travel from Seville in the south of Spain to the Hague in the Netherlands without ever being stopped for passport control. However, in case of national security risks, a member of the Schengen area can reintroduce border controls. This has been the case for over a decade between Italy and France due to migration pressures.
The Single Market allows the freedom of movement of people for work or study purposes under the Erasmus agreement, where students can go for a semester or a year to study in any other EU university. You can also go on holiday or retire anywhere within the EU. It means you don’t have to get a visa to study, work or reside in another EU country. The UK really didn’t like having people moving freely into their country, so it was very much one of the decisive factors in voting Leave.
There is also automatic mutual recognition of qualifications across the EU which works more or less well but is still easier than if you are from a non-EU country. The UK is now a third country. There is no automatic mutual recognition of professional qualifications. A nurse trained in the UK cannot automatically work in Sweden because his or her training isn’t recognised.
The Republic of Ireland and the UK have another agreement called the Common Travel Agreement, which dates back to 1920s. Brexit hasn’t affected it. It allows British and Irish citizens to travel freely from one country to the other.
When talking about borders in the Republic of Ireland, we have to mention Brexit and the issue of the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework, agreed in 2023, means there is no visible border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This was essential to protect the Good Friday Agreement and maintain peace on the island.
To make this possible, Northern Ireland follows EU rules for goods—even though it is part of the UK—which means some checks happen on goods travelling by sea from Great Britain into Northern Ireland instead.
In this lesson, we are taking a fun approach to freedom of movement. Each child will be given a passport and you will be the welcoming staff at the Portuguese airport. The pupils will have to decide whether they are going through the EU or non-EU passport control.
It is also an opportunity to highlight that all EU passports have ‘European Union’ written in the country’s language above the country’s name. It is a good idea to have a map available so that the children can refer to it.