Europe has Everything to Lose by Excluding Independant Scotland

Yves Gounin, ex-chief of staff of the French Minister of European Affairs, wrote in the journal Politique Étrangère, that Catalonia and Scotland should be immeditaely admitted into the European Union upon independance. His arguements come at a time of increased scaremongering by the British and Spanish Government’s as the pro-independance movements in Scotland and Catalonia gain momentum. Trying to suggest that both Scotland and Catalonia would be excluded from Europe is one of the many tactics used by pro-union campaigns to try and scare voters away from voting for independance.

However, as Yves Goulin points out the European Union is defined constitutionally not just as a union of states but also as a union of citizens, and affirms that stripping Catalans and Scots of their European citizenship would go against constructive legal rulings of the European Court of Justice. Mr Gounin suggests the most reasonable solution would be to negotiate the independence simultaneously with the accession to the European Union.

As the debate continues towards the referendum in Scotland, more people are recognising the value of a Yes vote and the gains of independence.

www.vilaweb.cat/noticia/4165817/20140108/french-study-questions-whetcher-atalonia-could-be-expelled-from-the-european-union.html