# 254
Oh dearie me no,Jim,--Graham here reads the
'i' ,and the
Independent (now there's a name to warm the cockles of self- assuming -'Mother Scotland'-Ms.Nichola Sturgeon's heart).
Why'that's like me assuming Scottish left wingers only read the
Daily Record and the
Herald !
Now then,here,from t'internet are some of the hurdles to be overcome by the Scots
should they ever be granted independence from UK,which will have to happen first,before any application for membership be made.
Leaving the UK
First up, is the very large obstacle of actually leaving the United Kingdom. The Westminster government is against a referendum taking place and polls suggest there is not overwhelming support for independence north of the border.
Euro
Should the SNP get its way, the currency question in particular, “which caused the Yes side such big problems during the 2014 referendum, seems to freak people out”, said The Independent. It cited a 2020 YouGov poll that found most Scots want to keep using the pound, with only 18% in favour of switching to the euro.
“An awful lot of persuasion will be required to soften Scots up on the idea,” said the news site.
Deficit reduction
“Another area which might be of major concern though is public finances,” said Euronews.
New EU members are expected to work towards cutting budget deficits to 3% or less so “an independent Scotland could risk beginning its new life with a much higher deficit than EU rules normally allow”, said the site.
Free movement
Another contentious area would be free movement of people from the rest of the EU. Salamone said the Scottish government “would probably seek a special arrangement on the Schengen Area in order to maintain the Common Travel Area between Ireland, Scotland and [the rest of the] UK.
“In the post-Brexit context, it is difficult to imagine the EU granting a treaty-level opt-out, but perhaps a model of deferred participation could be agreed,” he added.
Border with England
The thorny issue of a hard border between Scotland and England, with one country inside the EU and the other outside.
As the recent experience over the Northern Ireland Protocol has shown, the EU sees maintaining the integrity of its single market as a red line it will not cross, even if it means dividing communities and putting up barriers to tOne major difference between the last independence referendum and a future one would be the thrade between member and non-member states.
“Regarding the Scottish context then, the EU would most likely look to apply similar border arrangements seen on the Slovenian – Croatian border,” said Darryn Nyatanga, in another LSE blog. “This would entail the need for new infrastructures on the land border between Scotland and the rest of the UK, to ensure that checks are carried out on goods and to protect against illegal activities such as smuggling.”
Opposition from other EU member states
Euronews said on the European side, “any agreement between Edinburgh and Brussels would require the blessing of all member states, with some countries, particularly Spain, having their own separatist problems to consider”.
However, Hughes told the news site that “Spain would be fine about [a] membership application as long as the independence process had been legal and constitutional”.
“If London isn’t internationally recognised in Scotland and if Scotland is somehow leaving the UK without a negotiated divorce, then that will be very messy indeed,” she said.
But you knew all that didn't you Jim?
Anyway,it's not going to happen in my lifetime,your lifetime,or our children's or grandchildren's lifetime,is it?. No matter how much you want it,it's time to stop fretting about it and enjoy life.
Cheers!
Graham