Supporters of independence for Scotland | EPA/Graham Stuart Independence would make Scotland ‘Greece without the sun’ After Brexit vote, Nicola Sturgeon said it was ‘highly likely’ there would be a fresh referendum.

Leaving the U.K. would expose Scotland to "significant economic risk," according to a study by a center-right think tank, published Saturday.

Breaking away, would turn Scotland into "Greece without the sun," according to the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS).

The analysis was released after Michael Gove hinted that he would cut Scotland's funding if he became prime minister in return for extra new powers that Leave campaigners had pledged would be repatriated after a Brexit vote.

Gove said: "We are taking back control of policy areas like agriculture and fishing that are vital to the economies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the Scottish parliament and devolved assemblies can enjoy new powers in these and other areas.

“I think we need to explore how we can develop a fairly funded, flexible and robust union for our new circumstances — and I will work across political divides, with respect, to build that new union,” he said.

After the June 23 Brexit vote, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's first minister, said it was “highly likely” there would be a fresh independence referendum, unless Scotland could retain close ties with the EU. The CPS analysis said there was “some logic from a democratic standpoint” to Sturgeon’s push for independence, but “the economic backdrop is not encouraging for her.”

Scotland’s budget deficit has grown to three times the U.K. level, about £15 billion. Its trade within the U.K. makes up nearly two-thirds of its overall exports, worth £48.5 billion, compared with only 15 percent with the EU, according to a report in the Guardian.

“There is a precedent for a small, romantic country, surrounded by hundreds of islands, perched on the extremity of Europe, seeking membership of the euro: Greece," the CPS analysis said.

“Of course, it would be impertinent to suggest that Scotland’s circumstances are directly equivalent to those of Greece, but it does undoubtedly serve as a useful reminder that countries with challenging public finances can end up suffering inside the euro,” it concluded.