Holyrood report makes positive case for EU membership

The European and External Relations Committee conducted an inquiry on the recently agreed package of EU reforms and the upcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

The committee’s report focuses specifically on the implications for Scotland of the reform package and the referendum.

The report cites evidence pointing to a higher level of support in Scotland for continuing EU membership. While the report includes detailed analysis on the potential impact on Scotland of a vote to leave the EU, it contains strong evidence supporting a vote to remain in the EU.

Christina McKelvie MSP, convener of the European and External Relations Committee, said: “Voters in Scotland have an important choice in front of them when they head to the polls on 23 June.

“Our committee has seen how valuable Scotland’s links with the European Union are. We’ve had evidence from a wide range of Scottish voices on what EU membership means to them.

“Of course there are two sides to every argument and we’ve considered all of the evidence in front of us. However, as a committee, we are unanimous in our view that there is a positive case to be made in Scotland for EU membership.”

Deputy convener, Hanzala Malik MSP, spoke of some of the potential implications of a vote to leave the EU: “No member state has ever withdrawn from the EU so it was important that we sought to find out what the process would involve for both the UK and Scotland.

“The UK government has itself estimated that the whole process of exiting the EU, agreeing future relations with the EU and negotiating new trade deals could take ten years.

“We’ve heard how this might affect all of us in Scotland, from the higher education and research sectors to business and infrastructure, the implications are significant, complex and wide-ranging.”

In other conclusions, the report notes:

Considering alternatives to EU membership, the committee concluded “that any alternative to EU membership that would involve the UK ‘going it alone’ would be deleterious to the UK’s economy and its place in the world.”

The committee also criticised the lack of consultation by the UK government of the devolved administrations on the reform negotiations, calling for “improvements, as recommended by Lord Smith, in the structures and practices for cooperating on EU issues to ensure that there is genuine consultation in the future.”