''..The Edinburgh Agreement commits Scotland and England, under the Section 30 order, to work together "constructively" after the referendum whatever the outcome. The Scottish Government insists that this means both Scotland and the Rest of the UK have agreed to abide by existing treaty obligations, and that Scotland and England would both remain equally within the existing framework of EU law even after independence. However, this may be a presumption too far. No-one has asked what would happen if Britain votes, effectively, to leave the EU in say 2017, the likely date of any referendum on repatriation. Would an independent Scotland leave with the Rest of the UK, or would we remain as a separate state within the EU?
I don't have the answer to this, and I don't think anyone has. If I were one of the Government's legal officers I would be resisting requests to give any opinion on Scotland's place in Europe after independence on the grounds that it is increasingly difficult to predict what Britain's place will be in Europe. Certainly, Scotland cannot assume any longer that being part of the UK means being at the heart of Europe, or even in it. The debate on Europe is being turned upside down. Perhaps, the First Minister should be asking, not whether Scotland would remain in Europe, but how Scotland might get back into the European Union after Britain has effectively pulled out..''
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