| Author (Person) | Hughes, Kirsty |
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| Publisher | Scottish Centre on European Relations |
| Series Title | Policy Paper |
| Series Details | No.1, April 2017 |
| Publication Date | April 2017 |
| Content Type | Report |
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The Scottish Centre on European Relations (SCER) was launched in March 2017 as a new, independent and unaligned Scottish EU think tank. SCER) aimed to inform, debate, and provide up-to-the-minute, high-quality research and analysis of European Union developments and challenges. It would focus on pan-EU issues as well as having a particular focus on Scotland’s EU interests and policies. SCER would provide in-depth, impartial research and analysis on Brexit – looking at EU27, UK and Scottish interests and debates. SCER would also carry out up-to-the minute policy research on a range of key European Union issues including the future of the EU at a time of multiple challenges; the migration and refugee crisis, and the EU’s turbulent neighbourhood.The Scottish Centre on European Relations issued in April 2017 a policy paper, Scotland’s Brexit Choices, by its Director, Dr Kirsty Hughes. The paper argued that: + Voters would know, in March 2019, if there was a UK-EU27 deal on Brexit or not. In the case of no deal, with the UK heading for the ‘WTO cliff’, there would be a major UK economic and political crisis. Some would argue that a second independence referendum should be postponed while the crisis was resolved. The pro-independence side would be likely to argue the crisis made continuing with the referendum even more vital. + Voters would know if Nicola Sturgeon, and the SNP, were proposing a rapid route into the EU for Scotland, if there was a ‘yes’ vote to independence, or instead membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) – either permanently or as a transition. + But if Nicola Sturgeon proposed a transition route to the EU via the EEA (Norway model), the European Commission might disagree – suggesting instead a bespoke association agreement (as is normal in recent accessions to the EU). The EEA route will imply Scotland on the sidelines of European politics – and needing to establish many more regulatory structures and agencies than if it re-joined the EU. + If the choice for voters is between staying in the UK in the context of a UK-EU27 trade/Brexit deal and Scotland being independent in the EEA, the debate could become a highly detailed one over the impact of these different sets of trade arrangements. + In contrast, a choice between the UK-EU27 trade and security deal and independence in the EU would mean potentially a bigger set of political, foreign policy and economic arguments about the future UK-EU27 relationship and the future potential Scotland-rUK relationship. Overall, Scotland would be debating, and deciding, how it wanted to relate to the EU and the wider world – from inside or outside the EU, independent or not. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source https://www.scer.scot/wp-content/uploads/SCER-Policy-Paper-1.pdf |
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| Countries / Regions | United Kingdom |
