By: Eric Clive

Eric Clive — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 19:54:21 +0000

If Scotland became independent of the U.K. at the same time as the UK left the EU could it not remain in the EU as part of the “arrangement” under article 50 rather than having to apply under article 49? This would have a lot of advantages, one being that Spain would have nothing to fear from such a precedent unless it chose to leave. Also only a qualified majority would be needed under article 50.

By: Bruna

Bruna — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 21:10:27 +0000

Excellent analysis, many thanks. Well, personally I would believe that States facing secessionist movements at home – Spain, Belgium and Italy – could face some political difficulties and strong criticism, at European level, if they tried to resist the entry of Scotland as a new Member State (in the event of Scottish independence). They could realize, on a deeper consideration, that it is not in their interest to ostacolate Scottish membership. The case of Scotland is completely different from the cases that Spain, Belgium and (to a certain extent) Italy may face at home; none of these countries has had a referendum on EU membership and all these countries have been supporting the EU project. None of them has ever been facing the prospect of being dragged out of the EU against the will of the majority of their people. Moreover, the exit of a country is a negative event for the EU. For these reasons, Scotland – in the event of a second independence referendum – could present its choice both as an inevitable route for its EU membership and as a beneficial choice for the European project itself, given that those three countries have been consistently supporting the European construction (two of them being founding Member States, and Spain being traditionally pro-European). Trying to resist the entry of a pro-European country, an entry which ultimately would benefit the EU especially (after the difficult moment caused by Brexit), would not be in the political interest of countries which have been portraying their images as pro-European countries (additionally, an independent Scotland would have the support of other Member States without those secessionist movements at home).

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 08:55:25 +0000

Great read thanks. I personal would prefer the independence route as the other options seem to be overly complicated. Even if we did not get fast tracked we would know that we will be in the EU again later on down the line.

Comments on: How Might Scotland Maintain its Membership of the EU?

By: Eric Clive

By: Bruna

By: Adam