New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Politics
  2. Brexit
29 March 2017updated 06 Apr 2017 10:47am

Stop pretending an independent Scotland couldn’t join the EU

The SNP has a different set of questions to answer. 

By Julia Rampen

“But Spain”, is the common response to a discussion of whether, by voting for independence, Scotland could effectively reverse Brexit. “Disaster for Sturgeon as Spain BACKS May over plans to block Scottish independence vote,” declared the Brexiteer’s favourite, The Express, this month. Spain, according to this narrative, would unilaterally puncture the SNP’s bubble by vetoing readmission to the EU. An independent Scotland would be cast adrift into the North Sea.

I just don’t buy it. I have put this question to everyone from former EU member state ambassadors to the former World Trade Organisation head and the answer has been the same: “It can be managed.” 

There is also a crucial difference between Spain vetoing Scotland entering the EU, and considering its application on its own merit. Spain is indeed nervous about encouraging Catalonian separatists. But read between the lines. Spain’s position on Scotland has so far been to say it would have to exit the EU, become independent and reapply. 

Last time I checked, that’s not a veto. And from an EU perspective, this isn’t as arduous as it might sound. Scotland’s regulations would be in line with EU regulations. It would not upset the balance of power, nor fuel an identity crisis, in the way that Turkey’s application did. Spain could justify acquiesence on the basis that the circumstances were extraordinary. And for a club struggling to hold together, an eager defector from the renegade Brexit Britain would be a PR coup. 

Where it is far more arduous is for the Scottish National Party, and the independence movement. As I’ve written before, roughly a third of SNP voters also voted Leave. Apart from the second-glass-of-wine question of whether quitting one union to join another really counts as independence, Scotland’s fishing industry has concrete concerns about the EU. SNP MP Joanna Cherry has observed that it is “no secret” that many Leave voters worked in fishing. 

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how Progressive Media Investments may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

Then there are the questions all but the most diehard Remain voters will want answered. Would Scotland take the Euro? Would a land border with England be an acceptable sacrifice? Would an independent Scotland in the EU push for reforms at Brussels, or slavishly follow bureacracy’s lead? The terms of EU membership for an independent Scotland may look quite different from those enjoyed by the UK.

Rather than continuing to shoot down the idea that an independent Scotland could join the EU – a club happy to accept other small countries like Ireland, Austria and Malta – opponents of the Scottish independence movement should be instead asking these questions. They are far harder to answer. 

Content from our partners
Can green energy solutions deliver for nature and people?
"Why wouldn't you?" Joining the charge towards net zero
The road to clean power 2030

This article appears in the 05 Apr 2017 issue of the New Statesman, Spring Double Issue