by Rab Bruce’s Spider

The recent events in Catalonia and the EU’s insipid response to them has resulted in many people who were ostensibly pro-EU to express doubts as to whether an independent Scotland should become a member after all.

Of course, many of us were rather ambivalent about the EU in the run-up to the EU Referendum, but the past year or so must surely have shown us that the benefits far outweigh the many disadvantages.

As for Spain, the actions of the Government are deplorable, and it would be nice to think that the EU will take some strong action. The trouble is that there are other Right Wing Governments within EU countries who will naturally support Spain’s violent suppression of perceived opposition, so forcing through any severe action may well be difficult. Equally, taking no action will surely give those other Governments a signal that they can do pretty much what they want without fear of EU action.

Which brings us to the thorny problem of EU control. One of the reasons the Brexit vote succeeded was because so many people in England wanted to "Take back control". Yet we see now that, in practice, the EU is very reluctant to interfere in the internal politics of a member country. Or, at least, in the internal politics of a major member country. Whether the response would be the same had a smaller member country behaved the way Spain has done is a moot point.

Then there is the question of Greece, where the EU did intervene in a big way. The ironic thing here is that the people complaining about the lack of involvement in Spain were equally vocal in their condemnation of the intervention in Greece. But, of course, the situations were very different, because Greece’s case was an economic one which threatened the neo-liberal economics of the EU, while Spain’s issue is a political one rather than a mostly economic one.

Yes, politics was involved in Greece, and economics is a factor in Spain, but the driving principles in the two countries were different in emphasis. For the sake of the (mostly German) Banks, the EU could not allow Greece to get its way on financial matters. For the sake of being seen to be the overbearing, authoritarian mega-State the Brexiteers claimed it is, the EU does not want to exert too much pressure on Spain. Hopefully, some individual political leaders will begin to apply pressure of their own, and the EU will follow suit. Whether it will be enough to make Spain alter its attitude seems doubtful.

As for the potential for Scotland to become a member, the Catalonian situation does not really alter anything. Membership brings huge benefits in terms of trade, of research, of rights, and a host of other things. Yes, there are issues with the agricultural and fishing sectors to name but two, but the best way to obtain a better deal for Scotland is to be in the EU rather than outside it. Even countries like Norway and Switzerland have to abide by EU trading rules and standards if they wish to trade with EU countries, and a Scotland outside would be faced with the same issues. What we would need to appreciate is that the EU would let us get on with our own political affairs as long as we stuck to the economic rules.

It should also alert us to the fact that the EU will not intervene in the process of setting up IndyRef2. If Westminster sticks to its "Now is not the time" position, Scotland will get no help from the EU. Even if we call IndyRef2 and seek confirmation from the EU that an independent Scotland would be fast-tracked into membership in its own right, no such confirmation will be given. There may well be hints and unofficial statements from individuals, but that’s as far as support will go.

As for Spain and Catalonia, we’ll need to wait and see what happens. Whatever it is, the outcome will not please everyone. At most, I expect some verbal condemnations and perhaps some financial penalties. Even that is not certain, since it will do nothing to change Spain’s attitude. Only expulsion from the EU would have any real impact and that isn’t going to happen since it could lead to the break-up of the EU as well as being enormously complicated as we have seen with the farce of the Brexit negotiations. So, rightly or wrongly, Spain will probably be permitted to get away with its repressive behaviour with minimal punishment. If nothing else, that should show us that the EU does not control its member countries to the extent that the Brexiteers have so often claimed.