The Scottish Government’s Plan to Rejoin the EU After Independence

The Scottish National Party (SNP)-led administration said Scotland would apply to rejoin the EU “as soon as possible” after independence. “Given the position of the main parties at Westminster, Scotland’s only route back to the EU is to become an independent country,” said a Scottish government document outlining the benefits of EU membership.

None of Britain’s other main parties – the Conservatives, Labor and the Liberal Democrats – are currently in favor of Britain returning to the EU.

Great Britain left the EU after the Brexit referendum held in 2016. While the UK as a whole voted to leave by a narrow margin, Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU.

The Scottish Government announced that an independent Scotland would follow the normal accession route, known as Article 49, which usually takes several years.

“This Government believes that membership of the EU is essential to Scotland’s economic, social and political future and that we should seek to rejoin the EU as soon as possible after independence,” the document said.

But the Scottish government has no plans to join the eurozone, instead hoping to introduce its own currency, the new Scottish pound.

“We are clear that Scotland’s best future is an independent country in the EU and this document is a solid piece of work that shows who we are and where we want to be,” the SNP’s European affairs spokesman in Westminster, Allin Smith, told AFP.

In the referendum held in 2014, 55% of Scots supported the preservation of the unity of Great Britain, and London considers this issue resolved. But the SNP has said it will consider itself eligible to negotiate independence with London if it wins a majority of Scottish seats in the next UK election, due in 2024.

2023-11-17 22:01:00
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