THE budget disciplines that Brussels, urged on by Germany and other northern countries, has tried to impose on member governments as a condition of membership of the euro currency are under severe pressure.
Calls are growing, especially from poorer countries, to move away from austerity policies after years of lacklustre growth and high unemployment – especially youth unemployment.
Then there is the proposed CETA trade deal with Canada, a centrepiece of European Union policy, which is being blocked by the French-speaking Walloons of Belgium.
Indeed, the scale of the trouble facing the EU is hard to overstate as populist, nationalists and far-right movements are upending traditional policies and promoting anti-Brussels sentiment.
This has not been helped by last year’s huge wave of immigration, which continues to destabilise Germany and other EU countries.
The reason for the discourse, apart from immigration, is simple: it is due to the varied economic and political interests of the member states and a similar backlash to globalisation that was evident in the UK Brexit vote.
Furthermore, according to Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, matters are being made worse by mounting evidence that Europeans are not convinced that free-trade agreements are in their best interests and that the CETA agreement with Canada, if it goes ahead, could be their last.
So where does this leave the SNP? Having lost the economic argument for independence, its next best hope is to use Brexit as a last throw of the dice in a desperate gamble to seek independence at any cost, regardless of the crisis in Europe.
However, most informed people understand that the austerity policies practised by the EU, along with the fiscal discipline required for membership, would make Scotland’s position untenable without a combination of massive cuts in public spending and tax rises, given that our deficit is three times the permitted EU level.
Rather than undermine the UK’s Brexit negotiations at every turn and make silly demands, such as a separate deal with the EU, and daily threats about another referendum, Ms Sturgeon should put Scotland’s interests first and listen to Scottish businesses who want the best deal possible – not just for Scotland but for all of the UK, where they sell five times the goods and services compared to the whole of the EU.
Ian Lakin,
Pinelands,
Murtle Den Road,
Milltimber, Aberdeen.
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