EUpossibilities

Dear Editor,

The argument from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and others, eagerly jumped on by Unionist parties, that Scotland’s fiscal deficit would prevent it from joining the EU is patently untrue.

It cites Brussels’ Stability and

Growth Pact, which states members and applicants should reduce budget deficits to three per cent of GDP or less.

However, new members can also negotiate transition periods allowing them more time to meet specific EU rules.

There are also no formal timescale that countries must work to as part of this process.

Therefore, a deficit of three per cent of GDP or lower is not an official requirement for entry to the EU.

The EU could grant an independent Scotland a transition period, as it has done with others, that would allow the country to join the EU with an initial budget deficit of more than three per cent.

There is precedent for countries with deficits higher than the three per cent limit being allowed into the EU. Croatia, for example, joined in 2013 when their deficit was at 5.3 per cent of GDP.

The EU’s deficit rules have also been suspended until 2022 due to the economic impact of the pandemic and recent reports state European leaders will not be “overly rigid” when the rules come back into force.

Scotland is not an independent state so it is hard to determine what the deficit of it would be, but what is clear is that a deficit exceeding three per cent of GDP would not prevent an independent Scotland joining the EU.

Yours faithfully, Alex Orr