US Edition An independent Scotland would be forced to wait at least five years to join the EU and would then have to sign up to the euro, the Spanish government has warned in a major intervention 48 hours before the referendum that directly contradicts Alex Salmond’s claims.
Inigo Mendez de Vigo, the Spanish European Affairs Minister, rejected the First Minister’s claims Scotland could negotiate membership “from within” the EU, saying it would have to apply from scratch and follow the usual accession process.
He told BBC’s Newsnight programme Jean-Claude Juncker, the new European Commission president, has hinted this would take five years and no new member state would be given an opt-out from the single currency.
Gianni Pitella, president of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, also warned that an independent Scotland would have no automatic rights to the UK's opt-outs when it has to apply a new member state.
The Italian politician also put doubt on the SNP’s 18-month timescale for entry, saying: "It will take years".
The intervention is significant as all 28 existing member states, including Spain, would have to reach unanimous agreement on the process a separate Scotland would have to follow and the terms on which it would join.
Mr Salmond used an interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show at the weekend to repeat his claim that a separate Scotland would start life in the EU by negotiating entry between a Yes vote on Thursday and actual separation in March 2016.
He claims this fast-track process would be achieved by tweaking the EU treaties to include Scotland as a member but José Manuel Barroso, the former commission president, has warned it would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" for a separate Scotland to join the EU.
Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, which consists of all the member states’ leaders, said he agreed with Mr Barroso.
The Spanish Prime Minister has also said Scotland would start life outside the EU, while Mr Juncker has said voters’ decision would be respected but it could not become a member merely by sending a letter.
Mr Mendez de Vigo said: “It is crystal clear that any partner member-state that leaves the member state is out of the European Union. If they want to apply again, they would have to follow the procedure of article 49 of the treaties.”
He said there were “more ifs than a poem by Kipling” about whether and on what terms Scotland would gain entry, emphasising this must be unanimously agreed by the member states and “it is a process that takes more or less five years”.
Mr Salmond has said Scotland would not be forced to use the euro as it would not meet the economic conditions but Mr Mendez de Vigo made clear it would be expected to sign up to it in principle and work towards its adoption.
“The euro is not just another policy of the union, there is an aim of all member states to share a common currency. We are now 19 member states that share the common currency with an exception, the United Kingdom has an opt-out granted back in 1995 to go out of the euro,” he said.
“But I don't see in the future for any member state to be granted that possibility, if any member-state if any candidate puts that on the table, I can tell you that all member states will look at it very carefully.”
In a statement, Mr Pitella said: "An independent Scotland would have no automatic right to the various special treatments that the UK has been granted over the last few decades, from the budget rebate to having no obligation to join the euro or participate in the Schengen area of travel without frontier controls. No new member has been accorded such special treatment.”
Douglas Alexander, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: "This is yet another expert contradicting what Alex Salmond has said about the EU membership of a separate Scotland.
“It is clearer than ever that if we leave the UK we would need to reapply to join the EU. That would put at risk many of benefits Scottish families enjoy today, like our opt-outs on the euro and VAT on food and children’s clothing."
A Yes Scotland spokesman said: "There is no way that the EU won't want to keep oil-rich, fishing-rich, renewable energy-rich Scotland. And we will keep the pound, because joining the euro is entirely voluntary - as the example of Sweden shows. We have no intention of joining the euro, and don't even qualify for membership even if we did."