Scotland has its own devolved parliament with members elected directly by the Scottish people. In September, a referendum will ask if Scotland wishes to remain within the United Kingdom or become a fully independent nation. The drive to secede from the union is being led by First Minister Alex Salmond of the Scottish National Party (SNP) whilst the “Better Together” campaign is supported by the mainstream UK parties.
The SNP claim that an independent Scotland would retain its EU membership, but this position has been challenged by the President of the EC, Jose Barrosso, the Prime Minister of Spain and others. The latest group to suggest that an Independent Scotland would not gain automatic entry to the EU on the UK’s coattails is Business for New Europe (BNE), a group of business leaders.
BNE believes that Scotland would face between three years and a decade (or more) in the wilderness were it to split from the UK and seek admission to the EU. The group say that for Scotland to enjoy the facourable terms that the UK has (such as the right not to adopt the Euro, or EU rebate) would be all but impossible. The independence movement was quick to point to a senior EU official who backed their contention on membership – what is clear is that the situation is not straightforward. The accession of Scotland would require approval of the existing 28 members – Spain is unhappy about the idea that Scotland could become independent and join the EU directly, fearing that such a move would boost nationalist sentiment in Catalonia.
The major political parties have ruled out any idea that an independent Scotland could retain the Pound (and the backing of the Bank of England as a lender of last resort), but the SNP insist that this position would change should Scotland become independent. It is not clear why they think that another sovereign nation should agree to underwrite the debts of a fledgling nation that had just voted to leave them, however. Many practical aspects of a Scottish “Yes” vote remain shrouded in doubt. Most opinion polls suggest that Scotland will vote to stay in the union, but the margin has been shrinking.