Scotland ready to join EU upon gaining independence from UK

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said the country is ready to become a member of the European Union if it gains independence from the UK, Report informs referring to Politico.

“Sixty-two percent of Scotland voted to stay within the European Union in 2016. But unfortunately, we have been taken out of the EU,” Yousaf said.

Scotland rejoining the EU would by no means be an easy road. After a failed referendum attempt in 2014, there is the fact Scotland is still a part of the United Kingdom, with no clear route to a second vote.

Were it under his control, Yousaf said, “We would have had [a second Independence referendum] yesterday.” But the UK Supreme Court thinks otherwise, ruling late last year that the Scottish government cannot hold an independence referendum without the UK government’s consent.

Yousaf believes that the vote for Brexit - which took place two years after the Scottish referendum on independence - has been a game-changer when it comes to Scotland’s EU membership stance.

“If people in 2014 had known what would happen in 2016, I have no doubt that people would have voted for Scotland to become an independent country,” he told POLITICO at Scotland House, the Scottish government’s headquarters at the heart of the European Quarter in Brussels.

He also pointed to Scotland’s unique status as a former part of the EU — unlike other countries waiting in the wings to join the bloc, for example in the Western Balkans. “I’m not sure there’s any other country that has been part of the European Union for as long as we have, been taken out against our will, and then is looking to rejoin,” he said.