by Rab Bruce’s Spider

Many countries came into existence following what were technically illegal declarations of independence. The Republic of Ireland and the USA are of particular historical relevance as far as Britain is concerned, but there are plenty of others. It is very disappointing that, so far, the likes of RoI and USA have refused to recognise the new state of Catalonia. What was good enough for them is not, apparently, good for the Catalans.

That irony aside, however, it is easier to see why most EU countries have so far refused to recognise the Catalan declaration. As this site has pointed out before, the EU is not Europe’s policeman and has little real power which can be exercised quickly when a member state acts the way Spain has done. The irony here is that much of the Brexit argument relied on painting the EU as an all-controlling authoritarian super-state when, in truth, we see that it is something of a toothless tiger when it comes to applying pressure on a member state.

Of course, the EU could introduce economic sanctions against Spain, and perhaps that might still happen. What is very disappointing about the EU’s response so far has been its tacit support for Spain’s position and its refusal to condemn the violent and repressive tactics of the Spanish Government. Whatever you might think of Catalonia’s actions, the fact remains that the Catalans are European citizens and deserve some protections. The EU has shown itself to be particularly spineless by not condemning the Spanish Government’s brutality.

Sadly, it seems unlikely the EU will take any real action unless there is a major move by several EU member states. The problem is that Spain is an important part of the EU project and taking any action which is seen as a punishment may well spark a further disintegration of the EU. The EU can live without the UK, but another major nation breaking away in a fit of pique might well spur others to do the same.

While it remains to be seen what will happen – and it seems the EU will do very little – we should not let this sad episode distract us from the important question of Scotland’s place as regards the EU. We have plenty of evidence now that the EU will not intervene in what it sees as internal issues unless those issues affect the neo-liberal financial institutions of the EU as they did in the case of Greece. Scotland will get no help from the EU until we become a normal country. After that, there is the question of whether the EU is still an attractive option for Scotland.

Many Yessers have expressed dismay over the EU’s response to the Catalan situation and declared that they have reconsidered their views on whether Scotland should remain a member of the EU as a result. This is understandable, but it misses the point that Scotland’s economic future will surely be better secured by being a member of the EU, with all the benefits of free movement of people, goods and services that entails, together with the safeguards of EU rules on Human and Worker’s Rights, than it would if we remained part of an isolated and xenophobic UK which sees Scotland as a mere region to be exploited rather than as an integral and valued part of a larger social and economic area.

The EU has many faults, as does every organisation which is comprised of members with different priorities, but the shambles of Brexit must surely show us that the UK has very little to offer us.

As for the argument that the obvious difficulties of disentangling UK regulations and public bodies from the EU shows that Scotland disentangling itself from the UK would be horrendously difficult, let’s squash that now.

Scotland already complies with all EU laws. Disentangling from the UK would not involve any great legal changes since we could simply continue with the current EU-compliant laws and regulations. The EU already has overarching bodies covering a wide range of areas, so Scotland would not need to recreate such bodies from scratch as the UK is going to have to do. Our NHS, our Education, our Emergency Services are already separate, there are distinct Scottish Battalions in the Army, and we have, of course, our own Parliament already. The promised establishment of a Scottish National Investment Bank sets the groundwork for having a Central Bank and our own currency, so that would be another important hurdle which could be overcome relatively easily.

Where we would need new public bodies is in areas like replacing DVLA, the Passport Office, and most especially HMRC. However, these are far from impossible tasks and a period of handover could be negotiated quite sensibly unless the UK Government decides to be obstinate. However, Scotland has a strong hand in any negotiations since England relies on Scottish power generation and will also want access to such things as Scottish water and farm produce, as well as wishing to divest itself of responsibility for paying Scotland’s Social Security and Pensions bills.

None of that is to say that everything will run entirely smoothly because life simply isn’t like that, but these things are eminently achievable, especially because the UK Government keeps telling us how keen it is to do trade deals with as many countries as possible. It is inconceivable that even the most pig-headed Brexiteer would demand trade deals with every country except Scotland. And if Scotland were part of the EU, then we wouldn’t even need to negotiate the trade terms for our dealings with RUK.

IN summary, then, the current situations with Brexit and with Catalonia should not fundamentally alter our stance. Scotland should remain pro-EU with the aim of influencing the organisation from the inside as a fully fledged member instead of a mere ignored region of the UK. Above all, Scotland must remain committed to becoming a normal country and should not be scared off by the latest incarnations of Project Fear. The past century has seen scores of countries become independent. Some have fared well, others less so, but their fate has always been in their own hands. And none of them have been frightened off by the thought that they are too wee, too poor and too stupid to take control of their own destiny. It is a testament to the power of the UK media that so many Scots believe that they are incapable of governing themselves successfully. Even the desperate ineptitude of the current Westminster Government does not seem to have shaken this belief. Let’s hope a few more see the light over the coming weeks and months as they begin to realise that not a single thing Better Together claimed has proved to be true. It may be better for the UK to keep Scotland, but it certainly isn’t better for Scotland, so we cannot let the media persuade us that Scotland’s future would be better served within the UK rather than within the EU as a full member in our own right.

Normal countries face difficult decisions on a regular basis. They don’t always make the right decisions, but we should not let fear of making mistakes hold us back. The goal remains the same, so let’s keep moving towards it.