Referendum round-up: EU | North Sea oil

Get the latest on the Scottish independence debate on our dedicated website. Picture: Getty

TODAY’S MAIN NEWS:

The president-designate of the European Union, Jean-Claude Juncker, has reportedly stated that he will ”respect” Scotland’s decision in September’s independence referendum.

Juncker added that “one does not become a member of the EU by sending a letter”.

In other news, the rate of return on North Sea oil investments has hit a five-year low, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics, and financial services giant UBS has suggested that savings flight – individuals and business moving their money out of Scotland – could take place following a ‘Yes’ vote.

COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:

Our Scottish independence site showcases some of the best comment, analysis and opinion from across the web; here are some of our favourite articles from the last 24 hours.

• Gerry Hassan challenges some of the orthodoxies and common memes used by radical left-wing supporters of Scottish independence, and calls for a reimagining of Scotland and its structures, in this piece for Scottish Review.

• Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University, looks at the Scottish independence referendum debate within the context of the EU and Spain’s long-running opposition to Catalan independence.

• Kenny Hodgart, a Scottish journalist based in Hong Kong, writes for Spiked on Scotland’s role in building the United Kingdom over the past 300 years.

• Voters who had previously backed a ‘No’ vote in the Scottish independence referendum explain why they have decided to back the ‘Yes’ camp in this piece from The Independent.

• Ruth Wishart, a Creative Scotland board member, gives her view on the UK media’s new-found fascination with Scotland ahead of the independence referendum in September.

• YouGov’s Laurence Janta-Lipinski looks at the possible impact of TV debates and other momentum-shifting moments in the Scottish independence referendum campaign.

• The Guardian’s DataBlog has built a series of interactive graphs charting the top topics of the Scottish independence referendum debate on Twitter. Check them out at the microsite.

• Professor Adam Tomkins gives his view on the next steps for Scotland in the event of a ‘No’ vote in September’s Scottish Independence referendum.

• Get the latest referendum news, opinion and analysis from across Scotland and beyond on our new Scottish Independence website