Nicola Sturgeon and SNP are trying to get an independent Scotland into the EU, but they may have to make a key concession to achieve their goal. The Scottish first prime minister had previously said that Scotland would not accept the euro when joining the bloc. Asked if Scotland would convert to the euro last year, Ms Starzion said: “No, I don’t think it will.” He added: “No, we will not and today there are examples in the European Union that prove that this did not happen. For example, Sweden joined the EU after the so-called necessity to join the euro.”
But Philip Lamberts, Belgium’s MEP, told Express.com that the SNP would change its tune once it talks with Brussels.
Greens’ vice-president in the European Parliament said: “Any new member state must accept the euro. I know that the SNP is reconsidering its position, depending on the outcome of the referendum.
“So I don’t think the past positions of Nikola Sturgeon or the SNP reflect the position they would take if they applied to join the EU after the referendum.”
Mr Lamberts, however, said the EU would welcome Scotland into the EU.
Images in Brussels were more hostile than previously thought.
Former European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso claimed in 2014 that Scotland’s accession to the EU could be “impossible”.
However, European Commission President Ursula von der Lane acknowledged that she was a “fan” of MS Sturgeon in 2019 and now supports Mr Lamberts Scotland’s efforts.
Asked whether an independent Scotland could join the EU, Mr Lamberts said: “Yes, the answer is a resounding yes.”
He added: “If the UK were no longer in the EU, there would be no barriers to joining Scotland.
“And this time independence will be different, because in 2014, Scotland would have left the UK and the EU together.
“Now Scotland is leaving a small union to join a larger union.
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“The Brexiters are not defenders of the Union, they are English nationalists, they have thrown Northern Ireland like bricks, and Boris Johnson doesn’t care about Wales or Scotland either.”
Public Law expert Professor Aileen McHarg told Express.com in July that there was no legal impediment to preventing Scotland from joining the EU.
He said: “Any impediment to Scotland’s accession to the EU is political, not legal, because any candidate must join the EU.
“It will be fairly easy to meet these conditions because Scottish law is now fully compliant with EU law.
“It’s likely to expand over time, but that means Scotland will have to change its staff if it wants to join the EU.”