Spain Rejects Automatic Scottish EU Membership in Event of Independence

Would have to negotiate membership

Alex Salmond's chaotic attempts to persuade voters he can smoothly take an independent Scotland into the European Union have taken another blow after Spain said Scotland would need to "join the queue" and negotiate as a new member state.

Foreign minister José Manuel García-Margallo told his country's senate on Tuesday that an independent Scotland would have to go through a potentially long negotiating process and win the support of all the current 27 members, including Spain – directly contradicting Salmond's position on EU membership.