Scotland's Place in Europe After Brexit: Between a Rock and a Hard Place? A Legal Scoping Exercise

Abstract

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2017 2(1), 183-200 | On the Agenda | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Background: Scotland's place in the UK. - III. Scotland as part of the UK: the legal options around a special deal. - III.1. EU membership for Scotland as part of the UK? - III.2. Scotland in the single market as part of the UK? - IV. Scotland as an independent country. - IV.1. The path to an independence referendum. - IV.2. Accession to the EU. - IV.3. Accession to EFTA/EEA. - V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) The UK's decision to leave the EU poses a particular challenge for Scotland where 62 percent of the population voted in favour of remaining. This has led to calls - amongst others by the Scottish Government - that Scotland should be allowed to either stay in the EU or at the very least in the EU's single market. In a first step this On the Agenda provides an analysis in how far a differentiated solution for Scotland as part of the UK would be legally possible and whether it would be practicable; in a second step the On the Agenda discusses the legal conditions under which an independent Scotland would be able to either join the EU or stay in the single market.

Keywords

• brexit
• scotland
• differentiated integration
• secession
• european economic area
• european free trade association