NON! EU slaps down Sturgeon
SNP leader dramatically announces she wants ‘immediate discussions’ to STAY in EU But she is humiliated as Brussels says ‘No, that’s not how it works’
THE EU yesterday dealt a devastating blow to Nicola Sturgeon’s new bid for independence – by ruling out any prospect of Scotland retaining its membership when Britain leaves.
After the Brexit vote, the SNP leader said she was seeking ‘immediate discussions’ with Brussels to ‘protect Scotland’s place in the EU’.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that civil servants in Brussels have already ruled that the whole of the UK must exit the EU following Thursday’s shock vote.
Ms Sturgeon, speaking yesterday on the steps of Bute House in Edinburgh, called for another independence referendum during the next two years while Brexit negotiations take place, in the hope that Scotland can seamlessly remain in the EU.
But Brussels has dashed the First Minister’s hopes by confirming that even if Scotland voted for independence, it would have to reapply for EU membership.
That could take years and come with conditions – such as adopting the euro and bringing in controls at the border with England.
The issue of a ‘partial withdrawal’ was ruled out in a briefing note sent to MEPs by the European Parliamentary Research Service. The document – seen by this newspaper – confirmed that ‘part’ of a member state ‘cannot ... remain in the EU if the member state itself withdraws’.
An EU source added: ‘Article 50 is the only legal mechanism to
‘EU would extract a price for Scottish membership’
withdraw from the EU – and this refers to a member state.’
It is a massive setback for Ms Sturgeon, who aimed to capitalise on the overwhelming Remain vote in Scotland to help boost her crusade to end the 309-year-old Union with England.
It is understood that the Scottish government had suggested it could retain membership through a socalled ‘reverse Greenland option’.
In 1982, Greenland voted to leave the EU, even though its residents are Danish citizens – and Denmark remains an EU member.
But a Brussels source said: ‘They are talking about a reverse Greenland but the rule is that you cannot have a part of a territory apply for membership.’
Another source said: ‘The atmosphere here right now is f*** the British. They are angry and they will never be willing to let the SNP in on the same terms as the UK had.
‘They would extract a price from an independent Scotland for membership.’
Scottish Conservative MEP Ian Duncan said: ‘The prospect of a partial withdrawal is unlikely to gain traction. The two regions which would most likely seek it would be Scotland and London. It is difficult to see how the EU could accommodate this request.
‘It is too soon to judge the mood of the EU institutions. The next few months will be about disentangling the whole of the UK from the EU, securing the right deal for all folks of these islands.’