How Europe silently supports Scottish independence

Former chairman of the European Council Donald Tusk assured the BBC on Sunday that the return of independent Scotland to the EU would be seen “with enthusiasm” by Twenty-Seven.

Will Scottish separatists be able to count on the support of the European Union? Former President of the European Council Donald Tusk on Sunday spoke of returning to the European fold from Scotland. It is not a retired manager who expresses his opinion by firesheet, without any real result. Donald Tusk is not only a “pre-celebrant”, he is the current president of the European People’s Party, the first political family to be represented in the European Parliament. He is a leader of European conservatives who indirectly questions territorial integrity, and therefore the sovereignty, of a state outside the European Union.

Interviewed on British television, he genuinely stated the feelings, sentiments that everyone in Brussels, and more broadly in Europe, would be excited at the prospect of Scotland’s reception. Even if he remembers that an accession process would still have to be followed, according to him, there is a European sympathy in this regard. On the night of Brexit, it also happens that a light show was projected on the facade of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels: the words “Scotland” and “Europe” intersect in blue through a red heart. The SNP, the Scottish National Party, in power in Edinburgh, praised the gesture and relayed it.

Opinion in favor of solitude

Scottish separatists find it difficult to formulate more explicit incentives. As a reminder, in Brexit referendum, 62% of Scots voted to remain in the European Union. Everyone uses what they consider to be their strength: We should recall a speech by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in October last year: “The United Kingdom is our potential competitor based on China or the United States”. For Donald Tusk, if he refuses to touch British sovereignty, it is a way to encourage Scottish authorities to legislate in terms of Twenty-Seven rules, much as the powers conferred by London allow .

The Scottish Government has promised to be as compliant as possible in hopes of achieving the study process as soon as possible. The SNP, more European than ever, is convinced that a self-centered Brexit over England could increase the sentence of independence among the Scots. For the first time in five years, a public opinion poll gives a majority in favor of solitude (51–49). Above all, more than 20% of voters questioned who did not vote in the 2014 independence referendum lost by the SNP. The Scottish Secretary of Constitutional Affairs also believes that 2020 is still the right time for a new referendum.

London refused a new referendum

A new consultation before 2021 will be very difficult. The head of the British government knows that he can safely reject any request from Edinburgh. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ruled three weeks ago that accepting this independence referendum would continue the political deadlock, according to which Scotland has been for a decade. Conservative commentators in London argue that Scotland is not financially a choice of its fate. There are very unfavorable macroeconomic indicators, even beyond the fact that 60% of its exports go to the rest of the United Kingdom.

An economist at Scottish Trends has calculated that an Edinburgh executive had to revise Scotland’s GDP by 3%, which would increase the public deficit by over 7%. We are far from European norms. Access or reading into the European Union, for this time alone, is impossible.