AN independent Scotland within the European Union will have much to learn about strategies and tactics from other member states, according to a new report.
The study from the Scottish Centre on European Relations (SCER) asks what Scotland can learn from the way in which smaller EU states promote their interests, build alliances and extend their influence.
And it said that if Scotland in future became an independent member state in the bloc, it would be able to draw on its 47-year history as part of the EU within the UK.
The report – Smaller States’ Strategies and Influence in an EU of 27: Lessons for Scotland – said iScotland could learn from other smaller EU members how to blend the formal and informal influencing strategies to become an effective player. However, it would have to be agile, proactive, a team player and alliance builder and a contributor to wider EU aims, as well as its own priorities.
It would have to choose between becoming a core player, including membership of the euro, as Finland, Ireland, Portugal and Estonia had chosen, or taking the risk of staying more on the sidelines. In that event the SCER said it would have to look at member states like Sweden and Denmark to discover how to influence EU politics while outside the core euro group.
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Post-Brexit Scotland also had work to do maintaining relationships with EU institutions and member states, and should increase resources in European policy-making in its Brussels office and smaller “hubs” in Berlin, Dublin and Paris.
The Scottish Government should also consider investing more resources into the expansion of these hubs, which included adding new ones in other EU member states, such as the Netherlands or Nordic states.
It should engage strongly with newly formed groups, such as the “Friends of Scotland” group in the European Parliament.
The report said that while a “soft power” strategy, stressing culture, education and trade links could be important, Scotland would need a sophisticated European strategy to be part of vital climate or industrial strategy debates.
This should have clear priorities and tactics, would need to be flexible and, for the longer term, invest strategically in partnerships and policy areas.
It said: “The Scottish Government will need to bring its in-depth expertise in areas such as renewable energy, and human rights, into its EU relationship-building and influencing.
“And in devolved areas like environmental policy where the goal is to stay aligned as far as possible with EU policies, then finding the most effective routes for dialogue and consultation on these areas as fast as possible is vital.”
The report was compiled after a series of interviews with more than 20 high-level officials and diplomats from Brussels, individual EU member states and the Scottish Government.
It found that Brexit had fundamentally changed the EU’s internal dynamics, as the UK was one of its “big three”, and now members such as the Netherlands and Ireland were re-assessing their EU alliances, including bilateral relations within the EU, as a result.
The UK’s departure also left a hole in the group of states that wanted to defend free markets and promote further integration of the EU internal market, and it raised questions for states like Sweden and Denmark over potential pressure as the non-euro group of states shrinks.
SCER director, Kirsty Hughes, said: “Smaller EU member states value their seat at the EU table and the vote and voice they have. But that’s not enough to have a big influence.
“Smaller states need to have razor-sharp priorities, be pro-active, constructive and get in early on new EU laws and policies. They have to be adept and flexible alliance builders with other member states both large and small.”
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