Claims on EU opt-outs and special deals not credible
28 May 2014 11:03 AM
The Scottish Affairs
Committee publishes its report into the Referendum on Separation for
Scotland: Scotland's Membership of the European Union
(EU).
Parliament’s Scottish
Affairs Committee warns that a separate Scotland would face protracted and
uncertain negotiations when attempting to secure its position in the European
Union, and that while it is likely that it would eventually be accepted as a
Member state, it is not credible that it would emerge with the benefits it now
enjoys as part of the UK in the EU.
Complex negotiations would be
required, with both the UK and the EU, and any agreement would have to be
ratified by 28 Member States. There is no evidence or precedent to support the
notion that Scotland would get better terms than any of the other recent
applicant countries.
Interim period outside
EU
The Committee believes that a
separate Scotland is more likely to have interim period outside EU than to
complete UK/EU negotiations and processes of joining within its self-imposed
timeline of 18 months. It is likely Scotland will lose all or most of the
special arrangements presently enjoyed as part of the UK:
- Budget rebate, the loss of which
will cost each Scottish household around £900 over the Budget period.
Scotland will have to pay part of the UK rebate
- Opt out from promise to join the
Euro
- VAT charges for which the UK has
negotiated opt outs - on food, children’s clothes, books and newspapers
–at a standard rate of 15% or a minimum rate of 5%
- CAP farm payments at a higher
rate than given to accession states
- Loss of valuable EU structural
funds currently redirected to Scotland through the UK
- Opt outs from Justice and Home
Affairs
Discriminate against
students
In addition, it is inconceivable
that the UK and other EU member states will allow Scotland to discriminate
against UK students on tuition fees.
Some negotiations with the EU,
eg on Schengen, will be dependent on an agreement with the UK on mutually
acceptable immigration policies, thus affecting the timetable.
Today Scotland’s interests in the European Union are represented by the
UK which, as one of the largest Member States, has the voting power and
leverage to influence decisions to the benefit of Scotland. A separate Scotland
would lose this advantage.
The UK government and EU authorities have ruled out allowing Scotland to use
the legal mechanism it proposes for joining the EU (Article 48), which makes it
almost impossible that the Scottish Government’s self-imposed accession
timetable could be met.
Chair's
comments
Ian Davidson MP, Chair of the
Committee, said:
"It seems the Scottish
Government has drastically under-estimated the time, complexity and cost of
negotiating a new position in the EU, as well as the factors weighted against
Scotland in any such negotiations.
It is likely that a separate Scotland would have its application to join the EU
accepted – but not on the timetable or terms that the Scottish Government
wants. It is simply not credible that the Scottish Government would achieve the
terms of entry that it seeks and especially not from the weakened position of
its self-imposed deadline. The Scottish Government has not acknowledged the
true scale of the difficulty it will encounter in seeking better terms than
have been achieved by other recent applicants.
The people of Scotland deserve
to be told the truth about the costs and difficulties or re-joining the EU if
Scotland votes to leave the UK – and thus the EU.
We believe that the Scottish Government cannot meet its negotiating objectives
within the timetable it has promised.
The people should be told by the Scottish Government which concessions will be
made and what the costs will be. Will the timetable for Independence slip or
will there be a period outside the EU? What is their Plan
B?"