Scottish authorities have criticized recent comments by the European Union’s (EU) most senior official on Scotland’s membership of the 28-member bloc in case of breaking away from Britain.
Speaking to the state-run BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said it would be “extremely difficult, if not impossible” for an independent Scotland to get the approval of all member states to join the EU.
Barroso also warned that some EU states will block Scotland’s membership bid as they want to prevent similar moves by their own semi-autonomous regions.
However, in an interview with BBC radio 4’s Today programme on Monday, Scotland’s Deputy First minister Nicola Sturgeon said it would be “enormously disruptive” if an independent Scotland were not allowed to join the bloc.
“The decision on Scottish independence is for the Scottish people and the decision about continuing membership of the European Union is for the member states. It is not a decision for the European commission,” she said.
Scottish Finance Minister John Swinney also described the remarks by the European Commission’s head as “pretty preposterous,” arguing that Scotland has already been part of the EU for some 40 years.
This came a week after British Chancellor George Osborne ruled out the possibility of a currency union with the rest of the UK if Scots vote for independence in the upcoming referendum.
But addressing business leaders in the Scottish city of Aberdeen on Monday, Salmond said Osborne’s stance on the issue has “backfired”.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) leader also noted that no EU member state has indicated it would seek to block Scottish membership.
Sturgeon announced in November 2013 that Scotland will have its independence day on 24 March, 2016 if Scottish people vote to break away from the UK in a referendum on 18 September, 2014.
The independence referendum could result in Scotland’s break-up from the United Kingdom after more than 300 years of political union.