Once again, Boss is being very sly in order to avoid saying what he really thinks about the debate (namely if Pulis was leader of the SNP, an independent Scotland would become the worlds' largest economy within 2 years) .
Salmond cannot negotiate with EU now even if he wanted to, atm only the UK government can negotiate with the EU and they will not. After a YES vote it all changes of course with direct negotiations with Scotland and rUK.
Yeah right! The umberella is provided by Scotland for the UK, you need to inform yourself of the facts. The Musketeers? so you advocate a French umberella for the remainder of the UK when Scotland becomes Independent. I suppose that's an idea that ought to appeal to our Norman landowners. BTW the UK HAS gone pear shaped, or didn't you notice!
"Salmond cannot negotiate with EU now even if he wanted to" Based on his economic claims etc, he should long ago have entered dialogue with the EU to assess whether the criteria for EU membership would be met. Having EU/ECB endorsement of your claims (caveat emptor of course) would be a massive political boost. And if not, have a rethink of policy and claims on the points of failure. Just as I think the UK govt should be doing for UKminus (though this can be done far more transparently in this case) .
The EU will not talk to Salmond, Scotland is just part of the UK they will ONLY discuss this with member states. Otherwise Salmond would have discussed all this with the EU long ago, it is in the interests of the YES campaign to have this sorted.
"The EU will not talk to Salmond, Scotland is just part of the UK they will ONLY discuss this with member states." Eh, the same EU that has long had maps of the UK where England is divided into geo regions not designated or used by the UK govt ?? I suspect the EU will not be seen to be in dialogue with a vainglorious pompous arse. Behind the scenes I hope both they and the real "brains" of the Yes campaign have been doing so.
One of many reasons Boss. In some areas of Glasgow life expectancy is lower than the Gaza strip, that's how bad it is. 60 years of Labour control in Glasgow, they should be ashamed of themselves, they can't blame the Tories for that one. Scotland is the only country in the world that got poorer after discovering oil. There is NO case for staying with the Union unless you are rich or think you are rich or you are just stupid. Surely Scotland will not become the only country in the world to say no to it's own Independence? I hope not!
RDBD this is just a fact! You are entitled to your own opinion but you are not entitled to your own facts. The SNP have asked Cameron on a number of occasions to clarify the position with the EU he has refused to do this.
The criteria for EU membership (boring as it must be) is no doubt in the public domain. Therefore the Yes campaign based on their claims should be able to show they meet the criteria. Then interested parties (including the EU) can do methodology on how the answer was arrived at. Similarly for currency (separate currency, pegged to major currencies at various rates etc) . Any links on these topics that anyone wishes to refer me to ... ??
I suspect that the EU would be unable to give much clarification at this stage for reasons given. This is an issue that would have to be voted upon by the individual parliaments of the member states. There may well be dissenters, as already discussed.
I am not asking for predictions as to how member states would vote. I contend that an on-paper objective assessment of whether Scotland meets the criteria should be possible. So the Yes campaign don't need anything from the EU. And whoever does it, then irrespective of the answer, we can ask the equivalent of the maths "show me your workings" .
Scotland meets ALL the criteria.It is ALREADY in the EU. I had this confirmed personally two weeks ago by the Minister of Education himself in Scotland.
"Scotland meets ALL the criteria.It is ALREADY in the EU." No it isn't. Scotland is a part of the UK and not a sovereign state of its own. Therefore the fragmentation of the UK means the resulting parts should have to be re-assessed as to whether the criteria all still met for all of them. Here are the criteria : http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/policy/conditions-membership/chapters-of-the-acquis/index_en.htm Chapter 17 for starters. What is the Scotch currency ?? Is the Euro to become the adopted currency ?? If not, is it going to be pegged to a currency ?? If so, which one and at what rate ??
Does it? Only because the NO campaign says so. The EU has made no such claim. Let's put it another way. 5.5million people in Scotland are members of the EU. 160,000 EU citizens from other EU countries are already working in Scotland, 60,000 EU students are already in Scotland. There is no mechanism for expelling these people, and no political will. These are facts, they are not political statements from the YES campaign. Your questions are political statements from the NO campaign. How many times does thus have to be said! The money will be sorted AFTER the referrendum. Scotland will have MONEY just like every other nation on the planet. This is the extent of the NO campaigns case and it just is a non issue.
Just one of many reasons Boss. You only have to take a drive around some parts of Glasgow to realise something has to change and imo there is more chance of that with an independent Scotland.
[video=youtube;RnuAA2-jmc4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RnuAA2-jmc4[/video]
If Scotland is not in the EU, then nor would rUK be. I don't see the difference. Both are different entities after a Yes vote.
Spurf : All you're doing is showing me the Yes campaign cannot tell anyone that on day 1 of independence, what the key financial blocks of Scotland (currency, central bank etc) will be. When I go to buy my shortbread, I have no idea whatsoever as to what I am going to be getting for each GBP in my pocket (other than knowing 1 GBP > 1 Scotch pound) . And it seems the EU are also very interested in these aspects for prospective newly independent member states. "and it just is a non issue" Jeez. Later. We'll tell you later. Trust us.
