How would an independent Scotland join the EU?

As Lord Kerr, a former permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, explained in an article on Wednesday for the Centre for European Reform, the practical issues about the euro, free movement of people and opt-outs are actually relatively simple.

The bad news is that the process is not in Scotland’s control. Nor that of London and Brussels. One way or another, all existing member states would have to agree.

The typical concern drawn from this observation is that another state – usually Spain – will want to block or slow Scotland’s entry for domestic political reasons.

Perhaps. But there is another issue, Lord Kerr says: “The EU will adamantly refuse to mediate between London and Edinburgh.” The former mandarin suggests that member states will want to know what version of Scotland they are admitting. (Note also that Scotland would need rUK help if it wanted to negotiate with the EU prior to its emergence as an independent state – this might give it an incentive to play nice.)