Reunification foils East German example

ANDREW Wilson’s claim that the former GDR (East Germany) was allowed to join the EU within weeks after it collapsed is false and woefully ill-informed.

Founded in 1949 on the territory of the Soviet Occupation Zone, it was formally dissolved in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. After that East Germany has never been a geographic, political or national entity applying for EU-membership. It simply ceased to exist and, in the process of reunification, was incorporated in the political and economic system of West Germany, which is a founding member of the EU.

What had been the German Democratic Republic became part of an enlarged Federal Republic of Germany, naturally inheriting EU status.

If Scotland splits from the UK and becomes an independent nation there is, therefore, an easy way of gaining EU membership: simply by reunifying with the UK. Or am I missing something?

Regina Erich, Stonehaven

ANDREW Wilson in his pro-separation column (23 February) was congratulating himself and the SNP about George Osborne’s decision to rule out a currency union. He seemed to think that Osborne (and leaders of the other main parties) had shot themselves in the foot by announcing that decision.

Well, I dislike Osborne as much as anyone else, but please note – he is the first politician to announce something definite. Not the usual baseless set of claims.

Should we believe Osborne? I suggest there are well over 50 million reasons why we should.

Last week, there was reported comment by an SNP Westminster MP. “The SNP plans, if they get a Yes vote, is to retain free university education – and all other EU students would also get free education – except the English. Yet they would still expect the Bank of England to use rUK taxpayer funds to bail out Scotland in the event of financial problems! Do they really expect the rUK taxpayer to accept that?”

So Andrew Wilson, that is one of the main reasons why a currency would not fly. Beware the UK taxpayers; it would be a very hard sell to get them to stand as lenders of last resort to a foreign country, particularly one that would exhibit antagonism to the rUK. It is naïve to believe that this idea could be sold to the English electorate. And I believe that this reasoning would be accepted by reasonable, intelligent Scots once they are helped to understand.

Eric Davidson, Aberdeen