EDINBURGH, June 4 (RIA Novosti), Mark Hirst – A warning by the Swedish Foreign Minister that Scottish independence will lead to the “Balkanization of the British Isles” and to “unforeseen chain reactions” across Europe has been dismissed by the pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign.
Speaking to RIA Novosti a Yes Scotland spokesman said, “The Nordic states set a fine example of how neighboring countries can cooperate and share a social union without a political one. A Yes vote in September provides Britain with an opportunity to emulate that.”
Carl Bildt’s comments came in an exclusive interview for the Financial Times newspaper in London.
“The vote is one thing,” Bildt said in his interview “But there will then be a fairly painful period of separation and how is that going to affect the EU relationship?
“The Balkanization of the British Isles is something we are not looking forward to. It opens up a lot, primarily in Scotland but also in the UK,” Bildt is reported to have said.
But a spokesman for Yes Scotland, the official campaign that is backing a Yes vote in the Scottish independence referendum taking place 18 September told RIA Novosti, “Scotland has been a member of the European Union for more than 40 years and we can look forward to our continued membership with independence.
“The only foreseeable future disruption to the EU from these islands comes from Westminster’s proposed in/out referendum,” the Yes Scotland spokesman added.
Bildt is a member of the center-right Moderate Party and a former UN envoy to the Balkans.
