Brussels, 17/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - As far as the British foreign minister is concerned, Scotland will have to apply to join the EU if it became an independent country after the referendum on 18 September 2014.
William Hague was speaking in an interview with the BBC in Glasgow on Friday 17 January, after the publication of a document by the government on the consequences of Scottish independence and what this would mean for its membership of international bodies like the EU and NATO. Hague said that the process of Scotland reapplying to join the EU would be long, have an uncertain outcome and cost a lot of money, and he suggested Scotland might also have to join the euro and Schengen.
UK Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael will be in Brussels on Monday 20 January to comment on the document and to defend the idea that Scotland should remain part of the UK in order to better serve its own interests on the global stage. (MD/transl.fl)