Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has issued perhaps the most vicious attack on Scottish independence from a foreign national leader, calling the referendum in Scotland “a torpedo to the waterline of the European Union” in domestic newspaper El Mundo.
The Spanish minister for European affairs, Inigo Mendez de Vigo, has also been on the offensive. This week he rejected the idea that Scotland could rejoin the bloc quickly after independence on the BBC’s Newsnight show. De Vigo said a unanimous agreement from all countries and a protracted negotiation would be required, taking around five years.
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