racedo: I had assumed that because my passport says "European Union" at the top that it was an EU passport but it turns out that, as you say, it is a British one. The EU just mandates aspects of the design of passports of EU member countries, they don't actually issue them.
Nevertheless, the rest of my points still remain valid. Why would it be in the EU's interests to revoke the rights of Scottish people who work in other EU countries from having the right to work there, revoke the rights of citizens of other EU countries (including from the rest of the UK) to work in Scotland, revoke the right of Spanish, French, Danish and other EU fishermen to fish in Scottish waters, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.
Many experts on EU membership agree that, although this situation has never arisen before, a way would be found to admit an independent Scotland into the EU in an expeditious manner and that Barroso's intervention was ill-informed to say the least. These experts say that there would be no need for Scotland to agree a border controls regime that is different from the UK's nor would the Euro be forced on Scotland.
Comparison with Sweden is relevant. Sweden had to agree to join the Euro as a condition of membership but only when the necessary economic convergence was complete. Subsequent to joining the EU, a referendum was held in September 2003 which saw 55.9 percent vote against membership of the eurozone. As a consequence, Sweden decided in 2003 not to adopt the euro for the time being. If they had voted in favour, Sweden would have adopted euro on 1 January 2006. Sweden maintains that joining the ERM II (a requirement for euro adoption) is voluntary, giving Sweden a de facto opt out. Eleven years after that referendum the EU has taken no action against Sweden for failing to join the Euro.
Sweden and the euro - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sweden's accession to the EU did not take 12 months as I had indicated. It actually took 13 months elapsed time although the negotiations themselves took 11 months. The process of demonstrating compliance with EU rules was however much more complex for Sweden than it would be for an independent Scotland since we have 40 years of experience complying with EU rules and regulations as part of the UK. Pragmatism will prevail because there is no reason for the EU to want to act in a vindictive and vexatious towards an independent Scotland since our referendum is being carried out with the agreement of the UK government.
SkipnessOneEcho - I don't believe there is any anti-English sentiment driving the desire for Scottish independence. There is however a feeling among many people north of the border that the Westminster system is utterly corrupt and morally bankrupt, sentiments shared by many south of the border. In addition, Westminster quite naturally, takes little account of Scotland's priorities because we are seen to be a small and remote part of the country and it is far more important for the UK to make decisions based on what is best for the largest part of the economy which is London and the South East. I think most people north of the border accept that this will always happen and when you add to this the fact that people north of the border are, on average, more centre-left than the rest of the UK there is a longstanding feeling that we don't get the kind of governments that we would want and never will under the current United Kingdom. Speaking personally, I have a huge number of very good friends that are English and I expect that most people North of the border will too. Yes, there's some sporting rivalry but asking Scottish people to support England football team is a bit like asking Everton supporters to support Liverpool or Chelsea supporters to support Arsenal. It's a rivalry, not anything more malicious than that.
In summary, many people north of the border would rather that decisions are made in Holyrood rather than Westminster. Interestingly, many people in England would rather that decisions that effect them are made in Westminster rather than Brussels. It'll be interesting to see how both these debates progress in the coming months.