300-year-old Scotch blend may be poured down the drain in 2014

A Vote on Scottish Independence

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD, NYT

Scottish voters will decide on Sept. 18, 2014, whether Scotland should remain part of the United Kingdom or become an independent nation. After more than three centuries of political union, breaking up would be complicated.

Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and Alex Salmond, first minister of Scotland, have done a good job negotiating fair ground rules for the independence referendum. The ballot question will be neutrally phrased: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” Campaign spending will be limited and apportioned equally between pro- and anti-independence parties, and both governments have agreed to accept the outcome.

There are still many unresolved questions. What would an independent Scotland’s relationship be to the European Union? If Scotland continued using the British pound, how much power would the Bank of England exercise over the fiscal policies of an independent Scotland?

Mr. Salmond wants an independent Scotland to be part of the European Union. But he acknowledges that that would require negotiating new terms with 28 member states in 2014. The budget rebates and specially negotiated exemptions from European regulations that Scotland enjoys as part of the United Kingdom would lapse. And as a new European Union member, Scotland, like all new members, would have to commit itself to adopting the euro.

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