Barroso casts doubt on Scottish EU accession
President of the European Commission says it would be “extremely difficult, if not impossible” for an independent Scotland to join the EU.
José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, said today (16 February) that it would be “extremely difficult, if not impossible” for an independent Scotland to get unanimous approval to join the European Union. He suggested that Spain would veto the accession.
Asked by the BBC’s Andrew Marr whether an independent Scotland would be welcome in the EU, Barroso said: “Of course it will be extremely difficult to get the approval of all the other member states to have a new member coming from one member state.”
“We have seen Spain has been opposing even the recognition of Kosovo, for instance. So it is to some extent a similar case because it’s a new country and so I believe it’s going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible, a new member state coming out of our countries getting the agreement of the others.”
The devolved Scottish government, controlled by the Scottish National Party (SNP), has insisted that it will not have to apply for EU membership but rather could continue its existing membership using article 48 of the Treaty of the European Union. In its white paper on independence, the SNP said it would become an EU member state within 18 months of a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum.
The SNP has made EU membership a central part of its case for independence. Given its small size, it is unclear whether Scotland could be a viable state if it were not allowed to join the EU.
Barroso has long insisted that Scotland would have to apply to join. But today is the first time he has acknowledged that Spain may veto such an accession.
Barroso added that it was up to the Scottish people to decide on independence and he did not want to interfere in the independence referendum, which will be held on 18 September.
Following Barroso’s comments, John Swinney, Scotland’s finance minister, described the Commission president’s comments as “pretty preposterous”.
“He’s set out his position linking and comparing Scotland to the situation in Kosovo,” he said. “Scotland has been a member of the EU for 40 years – we’re already part of the European Union.”
“The Spanish foreign minister said if there is an agreed process within the United Kingdom by which Scotland becomes an independent country then Spain has nothing to say about the whole issue,” he added. “That indicates to me quite clearly that the Spanish government will have no stance to take on the question of Scottish membership of the European Union.”
Earlier this month José-Manuel García-Margallo, Spain’s foreign minister, told the Financial Times that the country would not interfere in Scotland’s referendum. But he refused to comment directly on whether Spain might veto Scottish accession.