Citaat:
Oorspronkelijk geplaatst door Leo
Er staan hier te veel vraagtekens, en ik lees niets over het feit dat Vlaanderen nu al deel uitmaakt van de Europese Unie (ook al is daar in Vlaanderen heel wat skepsis over, maar dat is een ander verhaal...) en dat het er eerst zou moeten uitstappen (wat ook nog nooit gebeurde) om dan te vragen er weer in toegelaten te worden, nogal grappig, toch?
Deze kant van de zaak werd al eerder belicht door professor Mattias Storme in zijn Plan N. Misschien eerst eens lezen en laten bezinken? |
Dit is wat Barroso erover opmerkte wat Schotland betreft
Barroso indicates independent Scotland out of EU
An independent Scotland would have to apply for EU membership and lose the UK’s opt-out from the euro, the president of the European Commission has indicated.
In a significant blow to Alex Salmond, José Manuel Barroso confirmed that any part of an existing member state that became an independent country would not inherit membership.
Existing treaties “would no longer apply”, he confirmed, meaning Scotland would have to try and negotiate its own opt-out from the single currency and the Schengen free movement agreement.
It would also lose the rebate negotiated by Margaret Thatcher, which is worth around £290 million a year to Scottish taxpayers.
Mr Barroso’s intervention, in a written parliamentary answer to a Scottish Labour MEP, came following reports the commission had drafted a letter to a Lords committee confirming a separate Scotland would need to apply.
SNP ministers continued to insist their membership would be automatic but Michael Moore, the Scottish Secretary, warned the UK’s hard-won opt-outs would be “back on the EU negotiating table”.
Speaking on a visit to Brussels, Mr Moore said: “The outcome of these negotiations would be far from certain. What would be certain is that Scotland would be negotiating from a much weaker position.”
“How will they negotiate an opt-out from the euro? No new member state has joined since 2005 without a clear commitment to join. The Scottish Government cannot wish these problems away.”
Romano Prodi, the commission’s former president, provided a parliamentary answer in 2004 stating that if part of a member state became independent then the EU “treaties no longer apply to that territory”.
He said a newly independent nation would have to apply for membership, with unanimous agreement required by the European Council and existing states.
David Martin, a Labour MEP, asked the commission if this view still held and Mr Barroso replied this week stating: “Yes. The legal context has not changed since 2004 as the Lisbon Treaty has not introduced any change in this respect.
“Therefore, the Commission can confirm its position as expressed in 2004.”
Reacting to the president’s answer, Mr Martin said: “I hope that at last we have established, clearly and without doubt the situation regarding a newly independent Scotland in the European Union.”
Mr Salmond has pledged to keep the pound after separation, meaning he would have to convince the other countries to let Scotland in without joining the euro.
Another potential sticking point would be the Schengen agreement, which allows free movement between countries on the Continent.
The UK’s opt-out allows passport controls to be erected for entrants to this country from Europe. Unless Scotland secured a similar deal, then similar controls would have to be erected on the Border with England.
But John Swinney, the SNP Finance Minister, claimed Scotland is already an EU member despite the UK being the member state.
“So the key point is any negotiation would be taking place not to apply for membership but for membership from within the European Union, which is the key distinction,” he said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...out-of-EU.html