Brussels, 17/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - An independent Scotland and a member of the EU? This would be difficult - if not impossible, according to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. The date of the referendum on Scotland's independence from the UK is approaching (18 September 2014).
Usually reserved with regard to domestic issues within the EU, Barroso spoke on behalf of the Commission when he told the BBC in London on 16 February that he thought it would be “extremely difficult - if not impossible - for an independent Scotland to be part of the EU” because “accession to the European Union” of a new state, coming out of a current member state, “will have to be approved by all other member states of the European Union”. Barroso said it would “be extremely difficult to get the approval of all the other member states to have a new member coming from one member state” and he cited the example of the Spanish not recognising Kosovo as a newly created state.
The day after this controversial statement by Barroso, the Commission's spokesperson, Pia Arenkhilde, said that Barroso was referring to a hypothetical case in which there were parties of the EU leaving the Union that would have to take steps to re-join the Community. She stated that Barroso in no way wanted to interfere in the ongoing democratic process.
Arenkhilde also said that no detailed analysis of a newly independent state within the EU was under way in the Commission. For this, it would be necessary to work on the basis of a precise scenario at the request of a member state. The issue is nevertheless becoming ever more pressing as another major vote on independence will take place in Catalonia (Spain) this autumn. (MD/transl.fl)