Spain warns Scotland EU membership not guaranteed

 

The Scottish parliament has rejected claims that the country will be required to formally apply to join the EU in the event that a referendum votes to split from Britain.

The statement came in response to comments from Spain that EU membership was not automatically guaranteed.

Earlier this week Spain's Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, said how an independent Scotland would have to pass through the same process as any other country. The semi-autonomous administration in Edinburgh, which is campaigning to break from Britain, has repeatedly claimed that Scotland would automatically retain EU membership.

However, there are obviously doubts in certain quarters, with a Minister letting slip that Scotland was taking legal advice on the matter.

"Scotland is part of the territory of the EU and the people of Scotland are citizens of the EU – there is no provision for either of these circumstances to change upon independence," a government spokesman said in an email. "Scotland will inherit exactly the same international treaty rights and obligations as the rest of the U.K., as equal successor states."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond agreed this month to hold a referendum on independence scheduled for 2014. With the debate so far mainly focused on the economics of Scotland going it alone, polls show voters are roughly two-to-one in favor of staying in Britain.

The Spanish government meanwhile is facing its own constitutional challenge as Catalan leader Artur Mas pushes for greater autonomy. The region will hold elections Nov. 25.

Scotland "would have to get in line and secure unanimous support," Garcia-Margallo told the Spanish Senate in Madrid. It would have to wait before being granted membership, he said.