OUR question, ''Will Brussels treat us like a second-class nation?'' should surely be, ''Will Brussels accept us as a nation?'' This is the crucial issue.
In a letter published on March 20, David Martin, MEP and principal architect of the Europe of the Regions, referring to Scottish independence in the European Union, said that he preferred to deal with the politics of the possible and went on to explain that there was no precedent for a change of status by Scotland. He did not say that there was no provision for it.
On April 11, however, Murray Ritchie claimed that the European Constitutional Court, Commissioners, and Eurocrats would accept Scotland as an independent nation state.
Yet on April 14, Canon Kenyon Wright, chair of Scotland's Constitutional Convention's executive committee and presumably well aware of the options available, claimed that the independence debate was irrelevant in the context of the new Europe.
In fact, the principle of subsidiarity, whereby administrative power in the EU is to be established at sub-national levels, was enshrined in the Treaty of Maastricht. Westminster, which has reserved constitutional affairs, is therefore bound by an international commitment that cannot be revoked unilaterally by a Scottish or indeed even by a UK Government.
Scotland has featured in EU maps since at least 1984 as one of the 12 regions of Britain and, whether or not politicians choose to refer to it as a nation, its status in the EU remains equivalent to that of any other EU Region.
It may be that in the small print of some treaty there actually is provision for a change in status for regions of ethnic minority currently within member countries, but the reluctance of Scotland's MPs to desert London for Edinburgh suggests that this is not the case.
The implications are clear: as to the legislative powers of nation states in the EU continue to atrophy under the European Commission, Parliament, and Court of Justice, the Regions will take on a new authority under a continental government at Brussels.
Scotland will therefore ultimately achieve independence from a Westminster Government, along with Great Britain's other Regions, whose devolution will develop gradually into such independence as is possible in the vast territorial unit that the EU is set to become.
Mary Rolls,
Crown Lane House, Jedburgh.
May 16.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article