Senior MEP says independent Scotland could ‘easily’ enter the EU

A senior member of the European Parliament has given a boost to independence supporters by claiming that Scotland’s entry into the EU if it voted to leave the UK would be ‘easy’.

Elmar Brok, a member of Angela Merkel’s CDU party, has been an MEP since 1980 and is seen as one of the foremost authorities on the constitution of the EU.

The former Chair of the parliament’s committe on foreign affairs has claimed that the looming prospect of Brexit could lead many Scots to think again about independence.

Elmar Brok. Picture: Wikimedia Commons

Brok told Alex Salmond on Russia Today: “This is one of the nations closest to my heart - this country is so wonderful (and) pro-European and I wish Scotland all the luck for the future and I know that the membership in the European Union is of the utmost importance for the future economic and social development of Scotland.

On an independent Scotland joining the EU, which was a point of contention during the 2014 referendum, Brok told the former First Minister: “If you decide so then it would be then easy to have membership negotiations because Scotland fulfils all the needs for membership, because all the standards are already there, and therefore I am not pushing for dividing the United Kingdom, hopefully the United Kingdom could together be a member together of the European Union but if the United Kingdom goes out of the European Union I can imagine that the Scottish people will think a second time.”

The long-serving politician and former journalist also called Brexit ‘lose-lose’ and said that he believed the chances of a no-deal departure from the EU was becoming more likely.