No Europe rush

Published on 21/09/2012 00:00

WHY a stooshie over whether Scotland will be whisked into EU membership the minute it becomes independent?

We are already unhappy with out Union status, so I don’t think there is massive impulse to engage in another.

But even given that some do have an impulse, it is difficult to foresee EU membership being denied to a nation like Scotland that isn’t debt-ridden, undeveloped, or showing any of the symptoms that has raised membership concerns for some other countries in Europe.

A number of factors make Scotland’s membership of the EU an unimportant part of any platform of issues in the run up to the 2014 independence referendum.

There are also options such as the European Economic Area, which accommodates Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, as well as EU member states. Maybe a pause before entering another union of states, especially in the context of the present euro currency crisis, will be no bad thing.

Ian Johnstone

Forman Drive

Peterhead