THE EU is ready to accept new members again and the process of accession for an independent Scotland will be “simpler and faster” the sooner it happens, according to a German MEP.
Terry Reintke, who organised a letter of support for Scotland from politicians across Europe after the Brexit vote, said granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova was a “clear signal” that the EU is ready to accept new members again after years without growth.
In the wake of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s unveiling of the route-map to indyref2, she said the closer Scotland remains aligned with EU law, the “simpler and faster” the process would be.
Reintke, vice-president of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament, visited Edinburgh last week where she met with SNP and Green politicians including Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson, equalities minister Christina McKelvie and Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell.
She said a variety of issues were on the agenda, including the European Green Deal, tackling climate change, abortion rights, gender-based violence and LGBTI rights.
More general discussions also took place around how a “close co-operation” between Scotland and the EU can continue, she added.
On the issue of the plans for a second independence referendum, Reintke said the future of Scotland is “for the people in Scotland to decide”.
The Green MEP said: “I am not taking a position on it. But it remains true: If Scotland were to become an independent country, an accession procedure to the European Union would be much easier – as Scotland had previously applied the full acquis already.
“The closer it would still be aligned with EU law, the simpler and faster the process would be.
“And you could for sure count on my support as an MEP and many others in this process.”
Last week it was announced Ukraine and Moldova have both been granted EU candidate status – the first official step towards EU membership.
Ukraine applied days after the Russian invasion in February and the process for candidacy moved quickly – although it could be a number of years before both countries join.
Reintke said the granting of candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova was an important signal to show the European path of these countries.
She added: “Granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova has been a very important political signal for the two countries to show their European path.
“And it is a clear indication that after years of not growing – even losing one member state – the EU is ready to accept new members again.
“There clearly is a more open dynamic with regards to accession than some years ago.”
Reintke, who studied in Edinburgh as part of the Erasmus programme, has been one of the prominent voices supporting the aim of Scotland rejoining the EU after independence.
In 2017, she organised a letter along with Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer which saw a cross-party group of 50 politicians from across Europe state an independent Scotland would be “most welcome” as a full member of the EU.
“We regret that the UK’s government has chosen to follow the path of a ‘hard Brexit’ and has so far refused to properly take into account the preferences of Scottish citizens in the withdrawal process,” it stated.
“Therefore, if Scotland were to become an independent country and decided to seek to maintain European Union membership, we offer our full support to ensure the transition is as swift, smooth and orderly as possible.
“Scotland would be most welcome as a full member of the European Union, with your five million European citizens continuing to benefit from the rights and protections we all currently enjoy.”
The signatories include parliamentarians from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Greece, Hungary and Malta.
She also organised a rendition of Auld Lang Syne in the European Parliament after its final vote on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal.
