A separate Scotland in the EU would require a "range of checks" at its border with England, a new report warns.
Dr Kirsty Hughes, director of the Scottish Centre on European Relations (SCER), said the border issue will be the “biggest change” in the Scexit debate from 2014.
“If an independent Scotland were in the EU, then Scotland’s border with the rest of the UK would be an external border of the European Union,” she said in a paper entitled 'Brexit, Scotland and Europe'.
Dr Hughes states: “It is clear there will indeed be a range of checks needed at the Scotland-UK borders.” Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said:
“This confirms there is a high risk of a hard border with England if Scotland leaves the UK.
“With 60 per cent of our exports going to the rest of the UK, putting up barriers would jeopardise our economy and jobs, particularly under the SNP’s plan to scrap the pound.
“Nicola Sturgeon’s inward-looking and negative vision for Scotland’s future would also lead to a barrier between friends, families and neighbours for the first time in centuries.
“The positive future for Scotland based on solidarity and economic growth is to remain in the UK.” Read more here.
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