EU or not EU? We'll gain either way with a 'Yes'!

A more appropriate title for this blog would be 'EU or EFTA', for they are the only two realistic positions an independent Scotland would find itself in come the 25th of March 2016. But, regardless of which path we take, voting Yes will leave our country better off in regards to Europe, and we're going to show you why.

Don't let Westminster decide everything for you, take charge of your own country!

Scotland as a full member of the EU
At present, Scotland, population 5.3 million, has 6 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). By comparison, Independent Lithuania, population 3 million, has 12 MEPs. This is due to the Nice Treaty (which you can read about here). Despite being smaller, independence gives Lithuania twice as much influence as we have and they are looking to increase their influence further.
 
Independence is better for Lithuania.
 
The European Parliament isn't the only place where independent nations gain. At present, Scotland isn't directly represented in the Council of the European Union either, and thus we control 0 votes. The Independent Republic of Ireland, home to 4.6 million people, has 7 votes (2% of the total with less than 1% of the population). It also held the presidency of the Council from the 1st of January to the end of June last year. Being independent gives Ireland influence at the top table, and leaves us behind with the other regions.
 
Independence is better for the Republic of Ireland.

Independence not only affects representation, but how policies are applied across Europe. At present, Scotland receives the equivalent of €130 per hectare for Pillar 1 payments under the common agricultural policy. Independent Denmark, despite having an eligible area that is half the size of Scotland's, receives one and a half times as much money (almost three times the rate that Scottish Farmers receive). The gap is equally startling for Pillar 2 payments, with €24 per hectare for Denmark and only €9 per hectare for Scotland. Being independent gives Denmark the opportunity to advance the interests of its farmers.

Independence is better for Denmark.

The only counterargument offered by the no campaign against the principle of an independent Scotland being a direct member of the EU is that we would become so wealthy, our contribution to the common fund would increase. It's like arguing that we should keep giving away £15 to Westminster for no added return because otherwise we'd be giving £5 to the EU: losing £5 and gaining £15 is still a better deal than the nothing Westminster is offering.

All of these are a form of EU membership.  Where we fit in will ultimately be up to us when we vote Yes

Scotland as a member of the EFTA
It appears increasingly likely that, despite what the people of Scotland may wish, the UK will be leaving the EU in the near future. EU Membership is unlikely to be an option under Westminster.
 
But an Independent Scotland has a distinct advantage over the rest of the UK under these circumstances. We have the option to join the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), a group of small, independent nations which already has longstanding free-trade agreements with the EU.

"An independent Scotland would be welcomed into the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) if it could not secure EU membership...EFTA spokesman, Tom Gronningsater, said that EFTA membership offered “several advantages” to Scotland." EU Observer, 12th November 2012

This arrangement would have no negative impacts on business trade for companies operating in Scotland (something which the UK can't promise after it's referendum). EFTA membership also includes a free-trade agreement with non-EU countries including Canada, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea. Scott Minto from Wings Over Scotland covers this point in more detail here.
 
Westminster is much more limited. They would need to negotiate agreements from scratch and the loss of all of their MEPs will have an affect on London's influence. And whilst headlines such as 'We need to stay in the European Union - or risk losing up to £92bn a year' do ignore the reality that Westminster would come to some type of agreement with the EU, it is hard to image that the price for protecting the City of London will be cheap for anyone outside the M25.

"Please, Better Together...don't tell me any more about the positive case for the union...anything but that!!"

Conclusion
Despite the 'Rainbow of Scares' coming from the no campaign, with their predictions ranging from we'll be left out in the cold to Brussels will take us over in a 300 year old scheme to dominate England, the EU wants Scotland to be a full and equal member (alongside other nations). Even a senior MEP from England stated that the democratically expressed will of the people is what matters, which is what we'll get in September.
 
EU or not EU? Scotland will be better off either way because making decision for ourselves and putting our interests first, also known as Independence, is better for Scotland.
Drew
 
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I'm voting yes! [Video]

The team here at Sign for Scotland have just released our latest video: 'I'm voting yes'. It is the biggest project we have undertaken so far and was great fun to be involved in. We plan to add more videos to our YouTube channel in the lead up to the referendum so keep an eye out for them!

'I'm voting yes' is our first chain video and features many of the key figures from within the independence debate. This included three of Scotland's leading politicians; Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Minister for International Development Humza Yousaf MSP and John Finnie MSP (who has helped our group so much since we started last year). Other recognisable figures such as Jonathon Shafi from Radical Independence and McV also added contributions.

Women for Independence sent us a number of recordings and we were very grateful to receive them.  Natalie McGarry and Shona McAlpine have done a great deal of work so far in the campaign and we're sure they will play important roles in the months to come. We're really proud to have them, and all the other Women for Independence members, feature in our video.

We'd like to wish Natalie all the best for the upcoming Cowdenbeath By-Election

We also received clips from Yes Scotland board members. Having support from Blair Jenkins, Elaine C Smith, Dennis Canavan, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh and Colin Fox made us feel really valued and makes us determined to contribute as much as we can to help achieve a 'Yes' vote in September.

  
The last couple of 'thank yous' we'd like to make are to the people of 'Yes Moray', 'Yes Moray Coast', 'Yes Speymouth', 'Yes Fiddlers', Charlie and Craig from the Proclaimers and those who we recorded at the 2013 March and Rally for Scottish Independence. Unfortunately we couldn't use every clip we received, but the thought and time given is much appreciated.

From everyone at Sign for Scotland (from those who featured in the video to those who were a little too shy to get in front of the camera) we'd like to say 'thank you' for helping us.
 
Finally, we have a project that we'd like to do before September, so if you use BSL (at whatever level) and would like to feature in a future Sign for Scotland video, then please contact us. Our email address is: sign4scotland@gmail.com
 
Normal blogs will resume next week
Drew
 
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Sign in, Sign up and Sign proud

Sign for Scotland wants you.  And I do mean you.

You may or may not be fluent with BSL.  You might be Deaf, an interrupter, or use Sign language to communicate with a relative or co-worker.  You might be a beginner who has mastered the alphabet but struggles with all the different symbols we use.  It could be that you don’t sign at all yet value how important Sign language is, but there is one thing that everyone who visits this page has in common; they care about BSL and they care about Scotland.

Sign for Scotland is for all parties and none

Sign for Scotland combines these two passions.  We want to bring both the facts of independence and the passion of the Yes Scotland campaign to everyone who cares about BSL.  We want as many people as possible to vote ‘Yes’ because we believe this is the greatest opportunity for change that this generation will ever have, and that independence is the greatest gift we can leave our children.  But we want Sign for Scotland to become more.
 

We want to make sure that the Deaf Community and everyone who cares about BSL become more relevant.  We want politicians to value us and the contributions we make.  We want our language to become more widely recognised and used, and for the concerns of the Signing Community to be acknowledged.
 

Sign for Scotland does not endorse any political party but we will be contacting lots of politicians and members of Civil Scotland to give them a platform to reach you.  But to encourage a speedy response we need you to give us the strength we need.
 

You can join us at:        Facebook - Sign for Scotland
                                   YouTube - Sign4Scotland
                                   Twitter - Sign4Scotland
 

If you'd like to feature in one of our videos (or if you are an interpreter who is willing to help out different Yes groups) then you can reach us here at this blog or email us at sign4scotland@gmail.co.uk.  The more people who join us, the more influence we can have.

We're really a friendly bunch when you get to know us!

This is the dawn of the most important year in our nation’s history, and an independent Scotland will need everyone to pull together to create a brighter future.  Let’s make sure that we take the first step.  Sign in, Sign up and Sign proud.
Drew

If you like this blog, then please consider visiting our other sites:
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