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Scottish independence: William Hague joins Scots-EU debate Scottish independence: William Hague joins Scots-EU debate
(about 2 hours later)
Foreign Secretary William Hague has said an independent Scottish state may not be able to negotiate the same terms of EU membership as the UK.Foreign Secretary William Hague has said an independent Scottish state may not be able to negotiate the same terms of EU membership as the UK.
Mr Hague is in Glasgow to unveil the latest UK government paper.Mr Hague is in Glasgow to unveil the latest UK government paper.
He told BBC Scotland, people "should be in no doubt" that if Scotland left the UK it would have to reapply for European Union membership.He told BBC Scotland, people "should be in no doubt" that if Scotland left the UK it would have to reapply for European Union membership.
First Minister Alex Salmond has argued Scotland's membership of the EU would be negotiated "from within". Scottish ministers said the UK government's in/out EU referendum was the real risk to membership.
He has stated that the terms of Scotland's membership would be negotiated during the period between a Yes vote in September this year and independence day in March 2016. The Scottish government has argued that, in the event of a "Yes" vote in the 18 September independence referendum, Scotland's EU membership would be negotiated "from within" ahead of its planned "independence day", in March 2016.
The first minister said that the EU would be keen to keep Scotland as a member and it would be open to discussions on matters such as the single currency. Mr Hague told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that, even if the European negotiations were "constructively-minded", it would still be a complicated process involving the agreement of all 28 EU member states.
Hold a referendum
Mr Hague told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that even if the European negotiations were "constructively-minded" it would still be a complicated process involving the agreement of all 28 EU member states.
The foreign secretary said Scotland would be obliged to join the Euro single currency, which the Scottish government had said it would not do.The foreign secretary said Scotland would be obliged to join the Euro single currency, which the Scottish government had said it would not do.
He said Scotland would also need to sign the Schengen agreement on border controls, which is "incompatible" with the Common Travel Area plans put forward by the Scottish government. He also said Scotland would also need to sign the Schengen agreement on border controls, which is "incompatible" with the Common Travel Area plans put forward by the Scottish government.
Mr Hague further claimed that Scotland would lose out on cash from the rebate which the UK gets from the EU. And Mr Hague further claimed Scotland would lose out on cash from the rebate which the UK gets from the EU.
The Conservative minister said his own party's plans to hold a referendum on EU membership if it was to win next year's UK general election were not an immediate threat.The Conservative minister said his own party's plans to hold a referendum on EU membership if it was to win next year's UK general election were not an immediate threat.
He said: "I think it is a more immediately, dramatically uncertain world if Scotland were to vote to separate itself from the UK this coming year because what we are trying to achieve by 2017 is a reformed EU that we can recommend the whole of the UK stays in.He said: "I think it is a more immediately, dramatically uncertain world if Scotland were to vote to separate itself from the UK this coming year because what we are trying to achieve by 2017 is a reformed EU that we can recommend the whole of the UK stays in.
"Scotland in effect is going to have two referendums on whether to leave the EU and one of them is in September."Scotland in effect is going to have two referendums on whether to leave the EU and one of them is in September.
"People should be in no doubt, if part of a member state leaves the EU it has to reapply for membership and that will be a process of uncertain length and unknown outcome in terms of the terms that are negotiated and probably great cost. It means paying more to get less from the EU.""People should be in no doubt, if part of a member state leaves the EU it has to reapply for membership and that will be a process of uncertain length and unknown outcome in terms of the terms that are negotiated and probably great cost. It means paying more to get less from the EU."
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused the UK government of acting against Scotland's interests. 'Real risk'
In a letter to Mr Hague, she wrote: "Regardless of the outcome of the referendum on September 18, people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will always be Scotland's closest friends and neighbours. Scotland's deputy first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, told BBC Scotland the UK government's EU referendum, proposed for 2017, posed the only real risk to Scotland's status in the EU.
"I also have no doubt that, in the event of a Yes vote, governments of an independent Scotland will work extremely closely with future Westminster governments. "The fact of the matter is that, if Scotland votes 'No' and we don't become independent, there is absolutely no guarantee at all that we would stay within the European Union.
"In European, international, defence and a range of other matters, our interests will often coincide and we will be able to work together constructively." "We could find ourselves taken out of it against our will."
She went on to accuse Conservative politicians of putting the UK's membership of the EU in doubt, "driven by a fear of UKIP which does not exist in Scotland". Ms Sturgeon added that the Scottish government had clearly set out the route by which Scotland could continue EU membership in its White Paper blueprint for independence.
The deputy first minister also renewed her call for Prime Minister David Cameron to debate with Mr Salmond ahead of the referendum. She also accused Conservative politicians of putting the UK's membership of the EU in doubt, "driven by a fear of UKIP which does not exist in Scotland".
"The prime minister has insisted he will not take part in a debate with the first minister because, he says, it is a matter for voters in Scotland and not him or his government," she wrote.
"This position is increasingly hard to sustain given the succession of Westminster ministers continuing to make day trips to Scotland to oppose independence."