'Doesn't meet the basic criteria!' SNP mocked for new 'fantasy' plan to rejoin EU
The SNP has been mocked for its new plan to rejoin the EU, with a commentator dismissing it as a "fantasy".
The foreign policy expert told GB News the paper shows the SNP "no longer has any ideas on how an independent Scotland will function".
The SNP's new plan to rejoin the EU was included in the party's Building a New Scotland report series.
The Scottish Government said it would use a "tried and tested" route to EU membership, relying on Article 49.
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Speaking ahead of the report's publication, the SNP's Constitution secretary Angus Robertson dismissed Brexit as "disastrous", calling instead for "an alternative direction for Scotland which will detail our shared European values".
Robertson said: "Independent countries like Scotland are wealthier and fairer than the UK, so with all our resources and talents why not Scotland?
“Both Labour and the Tories are happy to impose a disastrous hard Brexit on Scotland which the UK Government’s own fiscal watchdog thinks will cut national income by 4 per cent compared with EU membership – wiping around £100bn from the UK economy and leaving people on average earnings £1,300 worse off.
“Today the Scottish Government is setting out an alternative direction for Scotland which will detail our shared European values, how we will trade with the rest of the UK and the EU, the immense value to Scotland of being a European Union member state, and the contribution we would make to achieving the EU’s goals.
“There will of course be challenges and the tried and tested accession process to go through, but we can escape the costs of Brexit and build a new and better relationship with our friends on these islands: taking advantage of new opportunities as part of the EU and the world’s largest single market, which is seven times the size of the UK.”
Reacting to the report, Professor Azeem Ibrahim told GB News: "It shows the SNP no longer have any ideas on how an independent Scotland will function on currency, economy, defence etc so are creating fantasy papers on rejoicing the EU.
"There is little chance Scotland could meet the basic economic criteria to rejoin the EU even if it wanted to and then they will have to join a long line for countries ahead of it.
"The SNP know the independence dream is over and are just going through the motions now."
The report will also suggest that the party will exploit Labour's plans for Brexit, which are expected to bring the UK closer to the EU.
The SNP's report will argue that Sir Keir Starmer's planned renegotiation of the EU trade deal would result in the need for fewer physical checks on goods, making Brexit less of a problem for the SNP.
Earlier this year, Starmer confirmed he is planning to renegotiate the UK's relationship with the EU if he is elected.
The Labour Leader said he wants a closer trading relationship with the bloc, dismissing the 2020 deal struck by Boris Johnson as "not a good deal".
The deal is up for review in 2025. Starmer said he owes it to his children to strike a new partnership with Brussels and rebuild the relationship.
Starmer said the 2025 renewal date is an "important" moment to reset relations with the bloc.
The Leader of the Opposition, who is nearly 20 points ahead of the Conservative Party in the polls, told the Financial Times: "I do think we can have a closer trading relationship as well. That’s subject to further discussion."
Speaking about the current deal, he added: "I think there’s more that can be achieved across the board.
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The SNP's Constitution secretary Angus Robertson dismissed Brexit as "disastrous", calling instead for "an alternative direction for Scotland which will detail our shared European values"
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Starmer continued: "Almost everyone recognises the deal Johnson struck is not a good deal — it’s far too thin.
"As we go into 2025 we will attempt to get a much better deal for the UK."
It is not yet known whether the EU will be open to a renegotiation of the deal.