This week, we're running a series of articles on Brexit. Neil Davidson analysed the limitations of left remain arguments, while Sarah Collins offered a strategic post-Brexit road map. Later this week, one writer break down issues with the single market, but Fraser Wilson argues it's in Scotland's interest to pursue EFTA/EEA membership should the opportunity arise...

When I began writing this piece, I was visiting my parents in Switzerland. As I continued writing, I travelled over the border to where I was staying in France. The fact France is a European Union (EU) member and Switzerland isn't made no difference to the lack of difficulty I had crossing the border. Switzerland, for the moment, has full access to the European single market and that includes freedom of movement. This is possible thanks to a series of bi-lateral trade agreements the country negotiated at the turn of the millennium, allowing for participation in the market as long as EU law was complied with.



Back in 1992, the Swiss population narrowly voted against joining the European Economic Area (EEA), which contains all EU states along with single market states such as Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland. It serves as a reminder that exceptionalism is entrenched in the EU's very nature – specifically, you don't have to be a full EU member to enjoy some of its benefits.



All this is relevant when we look at the quandary Scotland faces. The SNP believe “the people of Scotland should have a choice about [their] future”, whereas Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson believes there's no grounds for a second independence referendum since “the SNP have U-turned on immediate EU membership”.



It's worth pointing out, though, that immediate EU member was never going to be an option this time around. This was disputed in 2014 (there were some baffling of interpretations of EU treaties with regards to the “internal enlargement” question on the part of the then European Commission President Barroso), but it's unquestionable now. The UK will leave the EU in just over a year's time, and Scotland will leave with it.



Whatever way we spin it, this means that Scotland will find itself outside the EU even if it re-emerges as a sovereign nation after a Yes vote in any hypothetical independence referendum. Many pro-independence voters find the concept of Scotland starting life outside of the EU frightening, but it presents a number of opportunities. And for those of who identify as socialists, it would be an opportunity to build the country we aspired to in 2014.



In that independence scenario, we ought to be cautious in regards to beginning accession negotiations with the EU through Article 49 of the Lisbon Treaty. Campaigns like Radical Independence and think tanks like Common Weal may hold visions that are diametrically opposed to what a Tory Brexit represents, but that's not to say the EU is the vehicle best suited to achieve such visions.



Scots would have a unique opportunity to decide its future relationship with Europe: would we rejoin the EU, seek an associate membership as part of the EEA or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) or something else? As socialists we must be practical about which solution best suits our eventual aims: I'd argue our vision is more easily achieve through EEA/EFTA membership than full EU membership.



EFTA is a free trade area currently consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. None of them are apart of the European Customs Union, but all of them participate in the European Single Market. The UK has ruled out joining EFTA, but this is partly due to the country's relative size. It would be a more realistic solution for Scotland, with our population of 5 million.



It’s unlikely 62% of Scots agree with full membership of the EU per se, but rather 62% agree with the benefits of the single market which the EU brings, which are available via other avenues. The lower turnout for the EU referendum in Scotland than in England might explain this. But this also leads onto the wider socialist critique that the single market is wedded to neo-liberalism and can obstruct the progression of genuine socialist policies.