Join the club
EU will welcome indy Scotland says top Swedish minister
AN independent Scotland would be welcomed with open arms into the European Union after Brexit, according to Sweden’s finance minister. Per Bolund told the Sunday Herald that Brussels would accept an application from an independent Scotland to rejoin the European Union after Brexit.
The Green MP, who has been Minister for Financial Markets since October 2014, said Scotland could follow the example of Sweden, which joined the EU in 1995 – more than 20 years after the United Kingdom. Bolund argued that Scotland already met the EU’s requirements in key areas such as on trade and human rights.
He said he expected Sweden to back Scottish membership of the EU in the event of a vote for independence. Bolund said: “That’s quite a long way in the future, but Sweden has always been one of the voices for enlargement of the European Union. We think that it’s important to have new states that want to co-operate and to give them an opportunity to join. And if that was to be the case I can’t see why we would change our mind about decisions on new countries entering the European Union.”
Bolund was in Edinburgh yester- day to deliver a speech at the Scottish Greens conference. He refused to say whether Scotland would be right to vote for independence to prevent it being dragged out of the EU against its will. However, he insisted an independent Scotland would be well placed to become an EU member state. “I think that Sweden’s example shows that the European Union has been willing to add new member states,” he said.
“Especially member states that are in the same policy space and also have an economy that is in order with an opportunity to contribute to European Union developments.”
Last night, SNP ministers hailed the remarks as proof there was a “significant amount of goodwill” towards Scotland among other EU nations.
Bolund is a minister in a coalition government between the Greens and the left-of-centre Swedish Social Democratic Party. He insisted an independent Scotland’s membership of the European Union would benefit Sweden and other member states.
He added that he was sympathetic to Scots who voted to remain in the EU by a margin of 62 per cent to 38 per cent. “We would have liked the [national] decision to have been different, but since the people have stated their mind we respect the decisions, so for now the focus is on trying to get as good a deal as possible for the European Union and Britain.”
He said: “I can understand that many Scots see the advantages of European co-operation. It’s something that we share as well. Scotland, like Sweden, is sparsely populated and we have benefited quite a lot from EU investment. It’s something that has been good for rural areas so we can understand the difficulties this will make for Scotland and the Scottish economy.”
Bolund said that Sweden was still “fearful” that the EU would be weakened by the UK’s vote to leave.
“We have a strong sense in Sweden that increased international co-operation is the best way forward and we want to develop the EU in the right direction and make it a strong actor for change,” he said. “So if Britain leaves the European Union it creates problems for us in trying to achieve that. We are a bit fearful that this will make it harder to develop the EU in the way that we’d like it to develop.” Last night, a spokesman for Scotland’s Brexit Minister Mike Russell said of the intervention: “This is a welcome intervention from Mr Bolund, and is a further indication that there is a significant amount of goodwill to-
I think that Sweden’s example shows that the European Union has been willing to add new member states. Especially member states that have an economy that is in order
wards Scotland from other members of the EU. These comments prove that governments across Europe are encouraged by Scotland’s strong support for Remain in last year’s referendum, and the Scottish Government’s constructive approach and defence of the single market in the time since.”
In response, a UK Government spokesman said: “We are committed to securing a deal that works for the entire United Kingdom – for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and all parts of England. We will continue to engage the devolved administrations as we seek to secure that deal.”
Former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke believes there is now no way to prevent the UK leaving the EU. The staunch Europhile said there was “little doubt” that Brexit would take place.
Clarke told an audience at the Scottish Parliament’s Festival of Politics: “I’m more pessimistic than most people who were Remainers. I don’t think there is.”