The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Scottish Greens won a total of 72 seats in Holyrood with a record turnout for the Scottish Parliament election of 63%, 10% above the average for an election to the Scottish Parliament . Election victory is an urgent question for one union – the United Kingdom – but it can also pose important questions in the long term for another: the EU. The two parties stood on a platform of an independent Scotland joining the bloc.

However, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon would have to overcome many obstacles before she could become a member.

After winning Indyref2, Scotland is expected to apply to join the bloc again under Article 49 of the EU Treaty.

New members can only be allowed into the bloc by a unanimous vote of the existing member states and an independent Scotland would no doubt ruffle the feathers.

Spain is grappling with demands for secession itself, from Catalonia, so many believe it is unlikely to support a newly independent state.

Over the years, Spanish politicians have indeed manifested their opposition to Scottish independence.

In 2017, as Ms Sturgeon tried to leave the UK and automatically join the EU, Spain’s former Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis issued a blunt warning.

He said: “If by mutual agreement and by virtue of a constitutional change Scotland eventually becomes independent, our thesis is that it could not remain inside the European Union.

“He would have to join the queue, meet the requirements, go through the recognized trading system and the end result will be whatever these negotiations produce.”

Four years earlier, before the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014, former Spanish leader Mariano Rajoy also told his government that he believed an independent Scotland could only apply to join the EU. outside the organization as a new state, as he warned of regions of Europe embarking on “solo adventures in an uncertain future”.

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As Mr Rajoy’s government faced elections in late 2013, before Scotland officially sought to become independent, the Spanish politician’s words were seen as an effective veto against Scotland’s immediate entry into the country. ‘EU.

Speaking at a joint press conference with former French President François Hollande, Mr Rajoy said: “It is very clear to me, as to everyone else, that a country which would gain its independence from the ‘EU would remain outside the EU. , and that’s good to know for Scottish citizens and for all EU citizens. “

Mr Rajoy said that EU treaties “only apply to Member States which have agreed and ratified them, and if part of a Member State separates from the Member State, it turns into one third compared to the EU ”.

He added, “It is the law and this law applies.

“In no case does it benefit our European regions and our fellow citizens to propose divisions or solo adventures in an uncertain future where the exit points may seem clear but the destination is unknown. “

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In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Mar Aguilera Vaqués, professor of constitutional law at the University of Barcelona, ​​argued that if Scotland becomes independent, it will be treated the same as Kosovo by the government. Spanish.

She explained: “We had a football match. Spain against Kosovo and there was the biggest scandal.

“On Spanish television, they wrote Kosovo in lowercase because Spain does not recognize its independence.

Ms Aquilera Vaqués added: “I guess it would be the same for Scotland for sure…

“They don’t want to duplicate what is happening here with Catalonia.”

Catalonia is one of the richest and most productive regions in Spain and has a distinct history stretching back almost 1,000 years.

Its desire for independence dates back decades.

Three years after his government’s failed attempt to unilaterally declare independence, Catalonia has somewhat disappeared from international headlines.

However, while its institutions are unlikely to pose serious new threats to Spain’s stability, the political situation in the autonomous region is far from normalized.

Several pro-independence politicians are currently in prison or in exile, violent demonstrations regularly erupt in the streets and the “war of the flags” continues on the balconies of the cities of Catalonia.