Veteran EU constitutional expert Jo Leinen has said that there are no real reasons why Scotland couldn't join the EU within 18 months of voting for independence.

With just a week to go until the Scots vote on whether to leave the UK, and with polls showing that the vote could go to the wire, Leinen, a member of the European parliament's constitutional affairs committee argues that, "An independent Scotland could stay in the EU."

"If the Scots decide on 18 September to leave the United Kingdom, Scotland should be able to join the EU on the day of its independence," added the German Socialist deputy.

"If the Scots decide on 18 September to leave the United Kingdom, Scotland should be able to join the EU on the day of its independence"

Leinen, an MEP since 1999, is widely recognised for his constitutional and legal expertise at EU level.

His assessment that, "There is no doubt that Scotland fulfils the requirements for an EU membership, since it has already implemented European law as part of the UK", are in stark contrast to many senior UK politicians' views that the Scots would have to reapply for EU membership from scratch.

Earlier this month, former EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn claimed, in a letter to the UK coalition government's chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander, that Scottish proposals to keep using the pound as the country's main currency without agreeing a formal currency union with the rest of the UK was incompatible with EU rules and would therefore make Scotland ineligible for membership.

However, Leinen believes that, "There is no reason to block the accession of Scotland to the EU", and, because of its position as a current EU member within the UK, he felt it could be readily fast-tracked into the bloc as a new independent state.

"The Scots have been EU citizens since 1973 and are committed Europeans. A special accession treaty could be negotiated and ratified before the envisaged date of independence in March 2016. The continuation of Scottish EU membership could thus be achieved"

"Scotland should not be compared with other candidate candidates. The Scots have been EU citizens since 1973 and are committed Europeans. A special accession treaty could be negotiated and ratified before the envisaged date of independence in March 2016. The continuation of Scottish EU membership could thus be achieved."

Leinen also believes that fast-tracking Scottish membership would benefit the wider EU, arguing that, "Due to its dynamic economy and energy reserves, the membership of Scotland in the EU is in the interest of the European Union and its member states."

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