The UK public have an appetite for change but not for unpredictability. That makes the whole process a political minefield running up to the 2015 General Election.
While it is true that any member state can veto the accession bid of another state, the EU will want to avoid any possible territorial mess within its borders.
Whether Scotland votes yes or no in 2014, future years seem to only offer the certainty of doubt. However, we know to a certain degree where such ambiguities & uncertainties are likely to emerge.
English Eurosceptics who consider Scottish independence as an opportunity to push their country quicker towards EU exit should think again. Scotland might have the last laugh after all.
There has not been much consideration of how Scotland potentially seceding from the UK might impact the Basque movement in Spain. Despite the many similarities between the two cases, it is unlikely to have much impact.
The necessity to control one’s economic, political and cultural space in the global market seems to indicate that the separatist sentiment among the Scottish and the Catalans will continue to grow.
There is an urgent sense that something massive happened on 5 May, Scotland came close to becoming a one-party state. Independence has in my mind been a practical option for nearly 40 years. Now suddenly, independence is a likelihood. There is a new political landscape.
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