Brussels, 11/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - UK Prime Minster David Cameron declared his love for Scotland in Edinburgh on Wednesday 10 September, pressed by the fast-approaching referendum on independence for Scotland on 18 September and the growing support for a Yes vote (see EUROPE 11150). With the accession of an independent Scotland to the EU one of the major unknowns in the campaign, MEP Jo Leinen has said that a special accession treaty could be negotiated.
Cameron's charm offensive. Cameron travelled north hurriedly with his Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and the leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband three days after a poll was published putting the pro-independence Yes campaign in the lead with 51% of voting intentions to the Unionists' 49%. Cameron, then, was seeking to speak with the heart in Scotland about “this family of nations that we've put together” and which has “done such amazing things”. He said that he “would be heartbroken” if this family of nations was “torn apart”. Scotland's gaining its independence would hugely damage Cameron's political career but he declared that he cared “more for my country than for my party”. Also on Wednesday, the British prime minister wrote a piece expressing the same sentiments in the Daily Mail, telling Scots that “the rest of the UK desperately wants you to stay”. Such suddenly placatory declarations have not gone down well with those supporting independence. Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party, said at a campaign meeting the same day that “Team Westminster” were panicking. He highlighted one of the motivations behind the all-party independence movement, which was to create “a powerhouse parliament that can create jobs for Scotland”. “What Team Westminster seem to be concerned about is their own jobs”, he railed.
What happens after the vote? Under the pressure of a very close campaign, Cameron has promised that, in the event of a No vote, work will begin on 19 September, the day after the referendum, on transferring more powers to the Scottish parliament. If the Yes side wines, one of the issues to be settled will be Scotland's future within the European Union. The European Commission's position is that, de facto, the European treaties will no longer apply to an independent Scotland, which would therefore be treated like a non-EU state (see EUROPE 11151). However, MEP Jo Leinen (S&D, Germany), a member of the European Parliament's constitutional affairs committee, sees no reason for an independent Scotland to be prevented from joining the EU. “There is no doubt that Scotland fulfils the requirements for an EU membership, since it has already implemented European law as part of the United Kingdom”, he states, adding “therefore, Scotland should not be compared with other candidate countries”. Leinen asserts that “a special accession treaty could be negotiated and ratified before the envisaged date of independence in March 2016. The continuation of Scottish EU membership could thus be achieved”. (MD)