Why Not Scotland The sourced case for Scottish independence

The EU and the border

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The case for independence

  • The Scottish Government plans to apply to re-join the EU, whose single market it describes as “seven times the size of the UK”.3
  • It says Scotland would remain in the Common Travel Area, so British citizens would not need Scottish citizenship to live and work in Scotland.2
  • It plans to re-join EU exchange programmes such as Erasmus+.13
  • On 6 October 2026, MSPs voted 78–25 for a Scottish Government motion that “the best future for Scotland lies within the European Union” and that membership should be sought “as swiftly as possible”, with the SNP, Greens and Liberal Democrats backing it.10
  • Moving the motion, the Minister for Europe, Stephen Gethins, said Brexit had hit Scotland hardest of the UK's nations, leaving economic output up to 9% lower in 2023 than had the UK stayed in the EU.9

How it works now

The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. New members join through the process in Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union. The applicant's membership must be agreed unanimously by the Council, approved by the European Parliament and ratified by every member state.4

On 6 October 2026 MSPs voted 78–25 for a Scottish Government motion that “the best future for Scotland lies within the European Union”, as amended by the Scottish Greens to add that Brexit “has been a disaster for the economy and for individuals”.10 Moving the motion, the Minister for Europe, Stephen Gethins, said Scotland's economic output was up to 9% lower in 2023 than it would have been had the UK stayed in the EU.9 Scottish Labour abstained, with Neil Bibby saying the motion lacked detail on negotiating terms; a Scottish Conservative amendment, defeated 25–66, called instead for honouring the 2016 referendum result and an “unrestricted UK domestic market for goods and services”.911

The challenges

  • EU membership needs the agreement of every existing member state.4
  • Scottish Labour abstained on the 6 October 2026 EU motion: Neil Bibby said it lacked detail on negotiating terms, “red lines” and how Scotland would meet the EU's entry criteria.9
  • The Scottish Conservatives opposed the motion; their amendment, defeated 25–66, called instead for honouring the 2016 EU referendum result and “an unrestricted UK domestic market for goods and services”.11
  • Pamela Nash of the pro-UK campaign Scotland in Union said that claiming a separate Scotland could “join the EU without adopting the euro, shows they don't understand geopolitics”.5
  • The UK Government set out its analysis in “Scotland analysis: EU and international issues” (January 2014) and “Scotland analysis: borders and citizenship” (January 2014).6

How Scotland would meet them

  • Apply to re-join the EU “as soon as possible” after independence.1
  • Trade with the rest of the UK would be governed by the EU–UK arrangements in place at the time.1
  • Remain in the Common Travel Area, so British citizens would not need Scottish citizenship to live and work in Scotland.2
  • It describes the EU single market as “seven times the size of the UK”.3

Source: Building a New Scotland, Papers 5, 7 and 14

What independent analysts say

Researchers for UK in a Changing Europe concluded that, if an independent Scotland joined the EU, “the Anglo-Scottish border would become not just an international border between Scotland and what remains of the UK, but a new land border between the EU and the UK.”7

Still to be settled

How long would EU accession take?

The Scottish Government has not set a timetable.1 The Institute for Government says the whole process of a newly independent Scotland re-joining the EU, including the negotiations to separate from the UK, “could take the best part of a decade,” and that the formal EU accession stage alone “would likely last at least two further years.”4

Would Scotland have to join the euro?

Only the UK (while it was a member) and Denmark have a formal, permanent opt-out from the euro. The Council of the EU says “all EU member states are in principle obliged to introduce the euro once they fulfil the convergence criteria” — Denmark is “the only exception, because it has an opt-out.”12 There is no fixed timetable for meeting those criteria, and readiness is reviewed only “at least every two years.”12 The Scottish Government's EU paper does not address the euro question.1 Whether an independent Scotland could negotiate its own permanent opt-out, as the UK and Denmark did, would be a matter for its accession talks; this has not been agreed for any state in a recent EU enlargement round.

Would there be checks at the border with England?

Independent analysis for UK in a Changing Europe found that, if Scotland rejoined the EU while the rest of the UK stayed outside it, goods crossing the border would face “customs procedures and other bureaucratic checks... especially on heavily regulated products like agri-foods and medicine.” It said this “may not lead to the kind of lorry queues we have seen in Dover or Calais,” since road transport has more capacity than cross-Channel ferries, but that “the cumulative effect of these checks could be disruptive nonetheless, adding costs to businesses exporting across the border in both directions.”8

Sources

  1. Scottish Government, Building a New Scotland: An independent Scotland in the EU (Paper 7), 17 November 2023.
  2. Scottish Government, Building a New Scotland: Citizenship in an independent Scotland (Paper 5), 27 July 2023.
  3. Scottish Government, A Fresh Start with Independence — Summary (Paper 14), 8 October 2025.
  4. Institute for Government, Scottish independence (explainer), updated 29 May 2026.
  5. Pamela Nash (Scotland in Union), quoted by GB News, responding to the Scottish Government’s March 2024 paper on Scotland’s place in the world.
  6. UK Government, Scotland analysis (collection of papers), 2013–14.
  7. Katy Hayward and Nicola McEwen, UK in a Changing Europe, An EU border across Britain: Scotland’s borders after independence, 3 February 2022.
  8. Nicola McEwen, UK in a Changing Europe, Scotland, independence, Brexit and the border, 8 February 2022.
  9. Scottish Parliament, Official Report, 6 October 2026 (Scotland's Future in Europe debate).
  10. Scottish Parliament, Votes and motions: S7M-01448, “Scotland's Prosperity and Future in Europe”, 6 October 2026.
  11. Scottish Parliament, Amendment S7M-01448.4 (Murdo Fraser), 6 October 2026.
  12. Council of the European Union, Join the euro area.
  13. Scottish Government, Enhanced opportunities for people of all ages (news release on Paper 12), 25 March 2024.