JEAN-CLAUDE Juncker has made clear he will respect the outcome of September's referendum but signalled that in the event a Yes vote, Scotland's membership of the European Union would not be a simple, ­automatic process.

In his first comments on the Scottish independence poll, the incoming President of the ­European Commission steered clear of creating the waves his outgoing predecessor, Jose Manuel Barroso, did in February.

Then, the former Prime ­Minister of Portugal claimed it would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" for a new member state, emerging from an existing one, to obtain the agreement of all the other member states.

In a meeting with MEPs, Mr Juncker was questioned on the possibility of Scottish independence by Catalan MEP Josep Maria Terricabras.

The former Luxembourg premier, who is due to take up his new role in November, said: "I am in favour of democratic expressions but I'm not so arrogant to pre-empt the debate.

"I will respect the result of ­Scotland's referendum."

But he then made clear: "One does not become a member of the EU by sending a letter."

Mr Juncker's remarks reflect his previous ones on Scottish and Catalan independence. In May during a television debate, he said: "It would be good for the EU to not intervene in the debate. It is Spain and the UK's jurisdictions."

Alyn Smyth, the SNP MEP who was at the meeting with Mr Juncker, insisted the incoming President's comments showed a "refreshing common sense".

He said: "Mr Juncker is playing it straight. He's shown he will respect the democratic process and then deal with the choice of the people of Scotland." He added: "We can do business with Mr Juncker, which is more than can be said for his predecessor."

But a Better Together ­spokesman picked up on his ­reference to the membership process. "The facts are clear: if we leave the UK, then we would need to reapply to join the EU on terms much less favourable to those we enjoy today."

He added: "As part of the UK we have special EU deals that would be put at risk if we went our separate ways. Where is the sense in putting that at risk?"

Elsewhere, analysts at UBS bank suggested that if there were a Yes vote and, as all three main UK parties have stressed, there was no currency union, then ­Scottish savers would quickly move their money to England.

The Swiss financial services giant said cash would even flow south during the 18 months Alex Salmond has said it would take to set up an independent Scotland.

"History has shown that small depositors will queue to withdraw their money from a bank even when those deposits are fully guaranteed," it said.

The analysis claimed there could be a reallocation of GDP generation from Scotland to the rest of the UK and that banks like Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds would relocate.

l Penrith and the Borders Tory MP Rory Stewart's plans for a hand-holding event along the length of Hadrian's Wall to "show the love" between the Union's four nations has been shelved. Walkers are instead being invited to pile up stones at a border cairn to symbolise UK unity.