On January 1, the post-Brexit transition period expired, meaning EU rules no longer apply in Britain. It is a new chapter for the country’s national history – but not everyone in the UK has given up on EU membership. Despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejecting her independence demands, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants to hold a second referendum this year.
In a recent column for the Irish Times, Ms Sturgeon reiterated that independence is Scotland’s only route to rejoining the EU.
She wrote: “We are now faced with a hard Brexit against our will, at the worst possible time in the middle of a pandemic and economic recession.
“It will mean disruption in the short term, while establishing new long-term barriers.
“Our people will be less safe and their right to work, study and live elsewhere in Europe will be restricted.
“This includes the loss of Erasmus, which saw more than 2,000 Scottish students, staff and learners use the scheme each year.
“It is therefore not surprising that a consistent majority of people in Scotland now say they are in favour of becoming an independent country.
“Scotland, like all nations, is unique.
“The same can be said of our constitutional circumstances.”
In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Italian MEP Marco Campomenosi explained why the chances of an independent Scotland joining the EU are very low.
He also revealed how, in order to disrupt internal politics in the UK, Brussels courted Ms Sturgeon at the beginning of the Brexit talks.
He said: “With Scottish independence, Brussels has shown the greatest possible hypocrisy.
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“During the withdrawal agreement talks, the former President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker was courting the Scottish nationalists, making them believe they were welcome in the EU.
“It was only done to destabilise the UK Government.
“Brussels could have not had the same attitude towards the Catalans because Spain strongly supports the European Commission.
“The hypocrisy would have been so evident that Brussels had to stop engaging with Sturgeon.”
Mr Campomenosi added: “Anyway, there is no way Spain is going to allow the Scots in if they do go independent.”
While in the past few months, opinion polls have given “Yes” campaigners a consistent lead over their unionist rivals, economists have been warning that the economic and fiscal difficulties of leaving the UK look substantially greater than they did when voters rejected the idea in 2014.
Economics Professor at Edinburgh Napier University Piotr Jaworski cast a shadow over the SNP’s plan to achieve independence and EU membership, as he claimed Scotland doesn’t even have money to invest in buses.
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He told Express.co.uk: “We will either go bankrupt or we will have to cut our spending.
“But there is a problem with that.
“If we really want to leave Britain and join the EU, we would need to go through a very harsh transformation of the public sector.
“I don’t think the Scottish people are prepared for this.”
Prof Jaworski noted: “So if we have a referendum, Scottish people might vote for going out.
“But they would almost immediately realise that it means no more free prescriptions.
“Then, it would be too late.”
Moreover, because of the state of its economy, the Professor argued it will be very unlikely Brussels will allow an independent Scotland to join its bloc.
