Joe Duggan (Reporter)
SCOTLAND wouldn’t be allowed straight into the EU if it voted for independence, Spain’s foreign minister Alfonso Dastis has said.
Instead, Scotland would have to ‘join the queue’ to gain EU membership, Dastis said.
His remarks come the day after SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon called for a second referendum on Scottish independence.
But Spain could veto an independent Scotland’s membership of the EU over fears it could encourage Catalunya secessionists.
“Spain supports the integrity of the UK and doesn’t encourage breaks or division in any of the the EU member states,” said Dastis
“We prefer that things continue as as they are. But If Scotland ends up being independent, our stance is that it cannot remain the European Union and will have to join the queue.”
He added: “Scotland will have to meet the requirements for membership and hold negotiations.”
Sturgeon is hoping to hold a second referendum on independence by 2018.
It comes after The SNP struggled to find friends in Spain during a trip to garner support for Scotland gaining access to the EU single market.
During a trip to Madrid, the party’s European spokesman told Spanish MPs that Scotland’s bid to keep single market status was very different from Catalonia’s independence claims.
Stephen Gethins also gave reassurances that the SNP will remain neutral on the Catalan independence issue.
Gethins was met by centre-left PSOE and far-left Podemos MPs, but not one MP from Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular met with the spokesman.
Britain’s Foreign Minister Boris and Spain’s should get together. They could form a new Goon Show.
Spain is telling the world that Britain should remain in the EU on account of the financial damage that will ensue following Brexit. Yet when Scotland wishes to do just that, this balloon treats them with scorn. Never trust a man with a moustache.
Totally agree, wanting independence is one thing, and frankly if that’s what the Scots want, (and Catalonia) then they should be able to get it, but Scotland’s current EU membership is as part of the UK, so when that ends (if it does) then obviously they would need to rejoin the EU as Scotland.
Likewise Catalonia.
Personally I think the whole question is moot anyway, because based upon current ability, and performance, the EU is more likely to implode and fragment before even Brexit takes place.
People want to control their own futures, that is natural, people want their sovereignty back, both concepts that make an EU dedicated to Federal government unacceptable to those people.