Scotland Joining the EU after Independence

There has been much talk about Scotland and being in the EU should the country gain independence. This talk has been interesting, but again the clear cut requirements of Scotland in the EU are still not clear.

Salmond and the SNP believe and state that Scotland would have to reapply but that this will be achieved by simply talk to the EU and that Scotland would keep its place in the EU without any formal requirements. The timeline to achieve this is 18 months. Those in Westminster believe that Scotland would need to reapply to the EU and the UK would continue its presence in the EU without Scotland.

What we all want to know is which side is talking sense and what the truth behind Scotland being a part of the EU post independence really is.

Well essentially both are telling a form of truth to a point. The truth is that it is not totally agreed on how Scotland will fair in joining the EU post independence.

What we do know is that NATO has already said Scotland would have to apply as per any new country wishing to join; this is because under international law Scotland would be deemed a new state and not a continuation of a state after breaking from the UK. This is contrary to Alex Salmond’s SNP who believe that NATO membership would automatically happen should they gain independence.

Now the EU has not come out and said similar to this yet, in fact many EU members have abstained from openly talking about what would happen as they see the independence issue as a domestic one for the UK (Scotland included at present). There are a few however, that have spoken and the few that have do say that an independent Scotland would be a new state and would need to apply to the EU. Some did say that the process may be quicker because of its current inclusion in the EU as part of the UK.

To achieve EU status there would be many obligations/objectives that Scotland would have to achieve; now this is not going to happen in 18 months. Some of these will involve setting up border controls on the Scottish/English border because England is not part of the Schengen agreement and Scotland as a new state would have to and joining the EU Fiscal Pact.

The true answer to the question of how quickly Scotland could become an EU member is not clear as it all depends on the political nature of the EU member states and whether they will accept Scotland as a continuation state or a new state. With NATO already stating international law dictates Scotland is a new state and would need to apply to NATO, it may be hard for the EU to see things differently.

My personal opinion is that Scotland is likely to be seen as a new state and as such the joining process will have to be followed and this will take longer than the 18 months the SNP stated it would take. Also Scotland will have to agree to all EU demands for joining and won’t be able to simply decide to pick and choose which bits it wants.