AN Independent Scotland would have to apply to join the European Union as a new state, Advocate General Jim Wallace will say today.
In a direct challenge to Alex Salmond, the former deputy first minister will claim that Scotland will have to negotiate terms of EU membership from scratch if the country votes to leave the UK.
He will tell a legal con-ference in Edinburgh that the UK would be treated as the "continuing state" and would remain bound with the EU.
Lord Wallace will also challenge the First Minister to explain his claim that an independent Scotland would enjoy automatic EU membership and inherit the UK's terms, such as its opt-out from the euro single currency.
The LibDem peer, the UK Government's law officer for Scotland, will say: "If Scotland were to become a member state in its own right it would be on terms agreed for its accession as a separate state.
"Would those terms include the UK's current opt-outs? Could Scotland negotiate itself into Europe but out of the Schengen arrangements on open borders? Could it negotiate itself out of the eurozone or would it be obliged to adopt the euro as its currency?
"You may say 'maybe it could and maybe it could not' – but one thing which does seem clear is that there would have to be negotiations."
Lord Wallace will cite the examples of Russia, India and Sudan, where they were recognised as the 'continuing states' after the break up of the Soviet Union, the creation of Pakistan and the creation of South Sudan, respectively.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Scotland has been an integral part of the European Union for almost four decades, and an independent Scotland will continue in EU membership, inheriting exactly the same treaty rights and obligations as the rest of the UK."
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