Would an independent Scotland be welcomed into the EU?

In the 2014 referendum Westminster politicians suggested voting ‘Yes’ would mean Scotland would be thrown out of the EU and wouldn’t be welcomed back even if it applied. 

In contrast the ‘Yes’ campaign argued voting ‘No’ would leave Scotland at the mercy of a Westminster government that could take Scotland out of the EU.

As the result of the 2016 referendum shows it was the ‘Yes’ campaign’s warning which proved right.

Now we are in a position where not only are the Tories enthusiastically imposing an economically damaging Brexit on Scotland, but Keir Starmer’s Labour now says they support Brexit.

The only route back into the EU as quickly as possible for Scotland is independence and the voices of senior European politicians show it.

The former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, who coordinated the European Parliament’s response to Brexit has said that there would be “no big obstacle” to Scotland being accepted as an EU member state. And contrary to Westminster politicians claiming Spain would veto Scottish membership there is no evidence that they would.

EU membership would bring many benefits to Scotland such as being part of the world’s largest single market – a market seven times the size of the UK.

It would also place Scotland at the heart of an organisation with global reach where we could work with our partners to develop EU policies and collaborate on tackling global challenges such as climate change.

It would also allow Scotland to regain access to the EU’s law enforcement tools, which help in the fight against cross-border crime and threats.

However these benefits can only be realised now if Scotland votes for the SNP to challenge Westminster imposing unwanted policies like Brexit.

You can read more about how Scotland can rejoin the EU in this Scottish Government paper: Building a New Scotland: an independent Scotland in the EU