A SENIOR politician in Guernsey has said Scotland could have a separate Europe deal to the rest of the UK if it was to became a 'devo max' style country like the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Jonathan Le Tocq, the former chief minister of Guernsey and serving minister for external affairs, said “nothing is impossible” and things “could shift again” when asked whether Scotland could have an arrangement like the Channel Islands with the EU.
Guernsey and Jersey are part of the Customs Union and are essentially within the single market for the purposes of trade in goods, but are outside the EU in all other respects.
Le Tocq, suggested Scotland's best chances of securing a separate European deal was if the Scottish Parliament had a "devo max" deal, where all powers are devolved, apart from defence and foreign affairs – the same arrangement as Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
He said: “It could be argued that when the UK joined the European Community back in the seventies there was no separate parliament or government of Scotland to make a different or independent choice, unlike in Guernsey which did.
“However there has been some devolution since and a separate government now exists, although not fully independent or autonomous like the Crown Dependencies.
“So Scotland could choose to change its constitutional relationship and become more like a Crown Dependency (what has been termed "devo max" in the past). It has not yet chosen to do so, but were it to do so it would, I believe, find that it's options were legally and constitutionally broader.”
When, asked whether Scotland could have separate European deal, along similar lines to Guernsey and the other 'dependent territories' such as Jersey and the Isle of Man, he said: "Nothing is impossible!"
Le Tocq added: "The nub of the issue is a constitutional one and relates to our differing constitutional relationships which of course have emerged over generations. As such the simple answer is that they could shift again."
An SNP spokesperson said Le Tocq's comments showed how it would be possible for Scotland to have a separate European arrangement to the rest of the UK.
The party spokesperson said: “The Channel Islands are a prime example of how it is already possible to have a differentiated deal within the UK, as the Scottish Government’s paper Scotland’s Place in Europe outlined.”
A UK Government spokesperson, in response, said: “Scotland’s constitutional position was settled divisively in 2014. The whole of the UK is leaving the EU, and we will get the best deal for all parts of the UK as we leave.”
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