Gibraltar may join the Schengen area after Britain exits the EU, said Fabian Picardo, the chief minister of British overseas territory. According to him, this issue was discussed before Brexit.
Currently, 22 of the 28 EU countries are parties to the Schengen Agreement. Great Britain, Ireland and Cyprus are not members of Schengen, while Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia are on the way to joining the community. Great Britain will leave the EU at 23:00 on January 31 (02:00 Moscow time on February 1).
It is noted that the accession of Gibraltar to the Schengen zone may contribute to freedom of movement across the border with Spain, near which there is a single border post, RIA Novosti reports.
Picardo noted that the accession of Gibraltar to the Schengen zone would be a “positive” step, despite the position of Britain, which did not want to enter this space. According to him, Gibraltar should have a “flexible border” with a block of European countries.