THE message delivered by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso couldn't have been clearer: "All new states have to apply to join the EU and must be accepted by existing members."

Despite the SNP's usual bluff and bluster, Mr Barroso's remarks have dealt a serious blow to the party's claims that Scotland would seamlessly continue as a full member of the EU post-independence.

We know now that this is untrue. A newly independent Scotland will be a new state and, as such, must negotiate an increased number of MEPs in the European Parliament, a revision of the weighted voting rules in the Council of Ministers and the appointment of a Scottish member of the European Commission. In other words, an independent Scotland would require negotiated changes to all three of the EU's institutions and such changes are not possible without a revision of the EU treaties, which in turn would require Scotland to apply for EU membership and become an accession state.

I have no doubt that Scotland would ultimately be welcomed as a member of the EU, but this process can take years. What would happen to our farmers' single farm payments in the meantime? What would be the position of the 160,000 people who work in our financial services sector? A huge cloud of uncertainty would cover the whole Scottish economy. And even more worryingly, as an accession state, Scotland would have no option but to join the eurozone and the borderless Schengen Area. There would be no question of holding a referendum to ask the people of Scotland for their views on joining the beleaguered euro, as Alex Salmond promises. And, because the rest of the UK is not a member of Schengen, we would certainly have to erect borders at Gretna and Stranraer.

Brussels has given the First Minister a welcome dose of reality; he can't continue to hide his head in the sand on this issue.

Struan Stevenson MEP,

The European Parliament,

Rue Wiertz,

Brussels.

THE Scottish National Party is courting the Scottish electorate's trust. It wants the Scottish people to believe its case for Scottish independence. With one of the most fundamental issues of an independent Scotland being EU membership, here, right now at this first hurdle of credibility it stumbles. There is no precedent to suggest membership would be automatic. President Barroso's recent comments reflect what the Commission has been saying for a long time. The SNP's claims on Scottish membership do not tally with the advice we have received from the European Commission. Ultimately it would be the European Commission, the European Parliament and the member states – not the SNP – which would decide if Scotland was eligible to become a member state. If the SNP wants to be trusted with dividing the UK and launching Scotland into the unknown of independence, then it should start now with a bit of honesty and admit that an independent Scotland's membership of the EU is far from clear.

David Martin MEP,

43 Midlothian Innovation Centre,

Roslin,

Pentlandfield.

Jose Manuel Barroso and Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly's remarks ("Fresh doubts over SNP's EU position, the Herald September 13") refer specifically to the position of a region (for instance, Catalonia) seceding from a member state (Spain). This is manifestly not the position of an independent Scotland.

Scottish independence will involve the abrogation of article I of the 1707 Treaty of Union which created the United Kingdom. The EU member state will no longer exist. It will dissolve into two successor states, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England with Wales and Northern Ireland.

The true comparison is not that of Catalonia with Spain but of the Czech Republic and Slovakia with the former Czchoslovakia.

Unionists who have been arguing that Scotland is an equal partner within the UK need to explain why it should be treated unequally following the dissolution of the Union. To argue that England with Wales and Northern Ireland will remain the EU member state and for Scotland to be excluded betrays an anti-Scottish agenda.

Rev Archie Black,

16 Elm Park,

Inverness.

ALEX Salmond is blaming the London Olympics for the recent rise in Scottish unemployment ("First Minister blames job losses on the Olympics", The Herald, September 13). I suspect the real reason has more to do with the Scottish Government taking its eye off the ball: the focus of attention is on the 2014 referendum.

There was no clearer signal of its priorities than the recent Cabinet re-shuffle, which saw Nicola Sturgeon take on the essentially party-political role of pushing forward the referendum campaign. In her spare time she'll preside over infrastructure and investment. I have respect for Ms Sturgeon's abilities, but I think the people of Scotland are being short-changed when the Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for such vital areas is doing the job only part-time.

The SNP keeps shouting that it will do something about Scotland's unemployment rate, if only wicked Westminster gives it the powers to do so. The Scottish Government has considerable powers and a budget of around £30 billion a year. There's a host of things it could do to stimulate job creation.

I fear the next two years in the run-up to the referendum are going to be more of the same, with the Scottish Government's attention focused on cobbling together a political platform to garner enough votes to win, and the economy, jobs, health and everything else consigned to the back seat. That isn't good for Scotland.

Doug Maughan,

52 Menteith View, Dunblane.