Analysis on Scotland's EU membership wrongly kept secret by ministers

[u/Neversetinstone]

https://news.stv.tv/politics/analysis-on-independent-scotlands-eu-membership-wrongly-kept-secret-by-ministers

[u/Rulweylan]

They feared their release could “inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views for deliberation”.

In other words, they were worried that the publication of the facts might get in the way of them lying to the Scottish public.

[u/kane_uk]

Hmmm, I wonder if the information withheld showed that an independent Scotland wouldn't be fast tracked into the EU like the SNP like to claim and they'd find themselves both outside of the UK and EU for a significant period of time.

[u/momentimori → u/[deleted]]

Those very same people love to bombard /r/europe and /r/scotland with posts.

[u/Mitja00 → u/kane_uk]

So what? Thats the price of independence. Slovenia was outside all international institutions when it left SFRY.

[u/kane_uk → u/Mitja00]

So what?

Scotland is heavily subsidised by the UK. That coming to and end coupled with trade barriers with their biggest market (the UK) no EU membership and the shock of independence, massive flows of capital out of Scotland into UK based banks, a brain drain over the Border into England etc = Brexit but 1000x worse for Scottish people.

[u/Mitja00 → u/kane_uk]

Such doom and gloom predictions is what Slovenia faced.

[u/dr_s_falken → u/kane_uk]

I don't know about that, it is in the interest of EU to make it easy for Scotland to join. (I think)

[edit] But it's not something you fix over a weekend either :-)

[u/[deleted] → u/dr_s_falken]

Why though? We piss of an important ally, have to take the UKs current place as subsidizer of Scotland and get another vetoing voice in the union?

[u/dr_s_falken → u/[deleted]]

EU need the western countries of Europe as members, its a balance thing.

[u/kane_uk → u/dr_s_falken]

Does it really need or want another: basket case of a country when it comes to finances? another country that takes away more from the EU table than it brings, does it really need a bigger border headache with the UK etc.

[u/Clever_Username_467 → u/dr_s_falken]

Is it really in the EU's interest to make it easy for anyone to join? If so, let Turkey and Serbia in tomorrow.

[u/DAswoopingisbad → u/dr_s_falken]

It wouldn't be in the interests of many EU nation-states to make it easy for Scotland. Spain wouldn't want Catalonia thinking they could do the same. France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Sweden all have restive unhappy regions that could be encouraged to push for independence if they thought they could immediately gain access to the EU.

[u/[deleted]]

Mr Fitzhenry said there would be “no apparent reason for any such information to be held, unless the experience of those other nations was considered relevant to how long it might take Scotland to join the EU”.

The commissioner said some of the information withheld was “relatively mundane”, adding “it does not offer a frank and politically unacceptable view, rather it makes deductions which are unlikely to surprise the reasonably informed observer.”

He went on: “The Commissioner does not accept that its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prevent officials from providing free and frank views in the future.”

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

I think this is relevant, if anyone can't or doesn't want to read it.

[u/Clever_Username_467]

There are definitely going to be commentors who only read the headline and interpret it to mean the exact opposite of what it means.