I think that what is true for the whole of the UK would also be true for Scotland: if Scotland was to decide to become an independent country on a legal pathway, then I think because Scotland had previously applied — like the UK — the full acquis of the European Union, it would be much easier to rejoin. I also think this is true when you for example compare it to countries like Ukraine and Moldova, [which] just gained candidate status, and Georgia, [which] has a pathway towards it, and also we have countries in the Western Balkans, where hopefully we can start with the accession negotiations soon. And I’m very much into trying to make this as fast and as efficient as possible. But a country that has never applied EU legislation as a whole obviously has more barriers to overcome than a country that has previously applied all of the EU legislation. So I would say there is an open door for Scotland as an independent country, but also for the UK as a whole, obviously.

Transcription:

Terry Reintke, Vice-Chair of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament — excerpted from her Best for Britain LIVE talk (published on 01.07.2022). Best for Britain is a civil society campaign to rejoin the EU.

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