‘Spanish blow to Salmond’s Europe vision’

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dealt a blow to Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond’s independence plans by saying on November 27 that if Scotland was to vote to separate from the UK, it would put itself outside the European Union and would need to reapply as a new state, writes The Scotsman.

The Scottish government unveiled its proposal for how an independent Scotland would operate earlier this week, ahead of an independence referendum slated for September 2014. The White Paper said the new country would be welcomed into the EU, but skirted around details of how this would be achieved.

Rajoy, who is also battling a secessionist movement in Catalonia, said he wanted the “consequences of secession presented to Scots in a realistic way”.