Voters in six EU countries other than Britain have given their thumbs up to an independent Scotland gaining membership of the European Union.
Voters in six EU countries (not including Britain) have given their thumbs up to an independent Scotland gaining membership of the European Union – but not as an automatic right, according to polling carried out by YouGov.
In addition to Great Britain, the survey focuses mainly on attitudes to the EU and the European Parliamentary elections in France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway.
Included in the poll, however, is the question ‘If Scotland does vote to become an independent country, do you think it should be allowed to join the European Union?’
The poll finds that across the countries surveyed, clear majorities favour EU membership for Scotland in such circumstances except for Britain as a whole, where just under 50 per cent of those polled believe it should be allowed to join the Union.
The findings in full show:
Q: If Scotland does vote to become an independent country, do you think it should be allowed to join the European Union?
| Britain | France | Germany | Denmark | Sweden | Finland | Norway | |
| Yes | 48% | 61% | 70% | 77% | 68% | 65% | 55% |
| No | 26% | 16% | 9% | 6% | 5% | 8% | 12% |
| Don’t Know | 27% | 24% | 21% | 17% | 27% | 27% | 33% |
The results are likely to prove a boost to the Yes Scotland campaign, which has faced continued pressure over its policy on the status of an independent Scotland within the European Union.
The Scottish government’s White Paper on independence has said that Scotland would simply continue as a member of the European Union, with Alex Salmond having argued that it would be absurd if it had to re-apply for membership if it opted to break away from the rest of the UK.
In February, however, the now outgoing President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso told the Andrew Marr programme that it would be “extremely difficult, if not impossible” for Scotland to join the EU under such circumstances.
Whilst the headline figures may prove good news for Salmond, his cheers will be be dented by the news that the YouGov poll shows that across all seven counties polled, opinion is largely supportive of the idea that Scotland should re-apply for EU membership rather than continue as now.
Q: When do you think Scotland should be allowed to join the European Union?
| Britain | France | Germany | Denmark | Sweden | Finland | Norway | |
| Automatic Membership | 34% | 47% | 42% | 47% | 40% | 40% | 35% |
| Re-Apply | 62% | 48% | 55% | 50% | 57% | 57% | 60% |
| Don’t Know | 4% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 5% |
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11 Responses to “EU voters – Independent Scotland should join EU, but not automatically”
Bill Cruickshank
Most EU supporting Scots I know are voting YES, because they think there is a greater chance of staying in EU as an independent country, rather than being dragged out of EU by a Tory/UKIP coalition.
swatnan
Its a good point, and no doubt Salmond will be using it to boost the YES Vote.
Increasingly looks like UKIP is forcing the issue on the UK leaving Europe, despite commonsense suggesting it stay in. The mere fact of having the Referendum means people will opt out rather than in.
Bill Cruickshank
He may well do, but one of the interesting things happening in the independence debate is that Salmond is no longer the driver. Many YES folk are grateful that he got them to where they are, but the grassroots are now driving the YES movement on the streets. YES Scotland and the Radical Independence Campaign have many thousands of activists working the doorsteps and streets and many of them are not SNP members or followers. I honestly never thought I would see the campaign take off in the way that it has. Indy genie is out of the bottle. Will he return? I hae ma doobt’s.
lescunningham
I must have missed something – “six EU countries … France, Germany,
Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway”. When did Norway join the EU?
In any case, I doubt if the electorates of any EU countries will actually be asked for their opinions on whether or how an independent Scotland could become a member state.
ShuggyMcGlumpher
There’s an interesting take in this piece from a small group of free-marketeer nationalists. The combination of these two positions represents a tiny minority in Scotland but the general analysis is broadly correct. The Nationalists have taken a position that is too narrow and Euro-enthusiasm is one of these. People in Scotland generally more pro-European than England but not by a huge margin. It isn’t an issue that’s going to swing the referendum one way or the other. And, as someone below has pointed out, it’s not as if the voters in EU members are the ones that are going to decide Scotland’s membership in the event of a Yes in September… http://www.wealthynation.org/yes-scotland-has-misjudged-its-audience/