With Scotland set to vote on independence in September 2014, this public debate will focus on the question of an independent Scotland and its membership of the EU.
The remarks of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso earlier this year that it would be "extremely difficult, if not impossible" for an independent Scotland to join the European Union has sparked a debate among policymakers and legal experts across Europe.
The Scottish government has announced in its White Paper that it aims for Scotland to gain EU membership simultaneously with independence, but some European officials have argued that Scotland would have to leave the EU and apply for membership from outside.
The debate raises a number of key questions in the lead up to the referendum on independence, which will be addressed by a panel of experts from the law, political science, and EU and Scottish affairs:
Would it be in the interests of an independent Scotland to join the EU?
What would be the terms of membership and would Scotland meet them?
What would be the wider consequences for Europe and the EU of an independent Scotland?
Panellists:
Graham Avery, Senior Adviser at the European Policy Centre, Brussels; Honorary Director General of the European Commission; and Senior Member of St. Antony’s College, Oxford
Michael Keating, Professor of Scottish Politics at the University of Aberdeen
Sionaidh Douglas-Scott, Professor of European and Human Rights Law, University of Oxford
