Truth is that no one actually knows. It's an unprecedented situation. The laws don't specify what to do so each official is interpreting it in their own way.
It will be a negotiation on both sides. The best thing to do is to look at each side's motives. The EU want to punish the UK for Brexit to dissuade other countries from leaving and the threat of the breakup of the UK would mean that they can say to other countries that it wasn't good for the UK to leave. On the other hand they don't want Scotland to get the unfair deal that the UK had so they don't want to make it look like they can take things for granted. On the other hand they wouldn't want to discourage the independence movement. Although a country like Spain would because of Catalonia.
One thing that would help Scotland though is that has already met all the conditions to be part of the EU, all its laws are in compliance. The other countries applying to join have to go through the long process of changing their laws to fit. There is no reason why there has to be a sequential queue. Each application to join the EU can be done, and should be. After all what if one country that applies first holds up every other country that is no ready to join? This then suggests that talk of being at the back of the queue is meant to encourage / discourage rather than actually reflects reality.
It will be a negotiation on both sides. The best thing to do is to look at each side's motives. The EU want to punish the UK for Brexit to dissuade other countries from leaving and the threat of the breakup of the UK would mean that they can say to other countries that it wasn't good for the UK to leave. On the other hand they don't want Scotland to get the unfair deal that the UK had so they don't want to make it look like they can take things for granted. On the other hand they wouldn't want to discourage the independence movement. Although a country like Spain would because of Catalonia.
One thing that would help Scotland though is that has already met all the conditions to be part of the EU, all its laws are in compliance. The other countries applying to join have to go through the long process of changing their laws to fit. There is no reason why there has to be a sequential queue. Each application to join the EU can be done, and should be. After all what if one country that applies first holds up every other country that is no ready to join? This then suggests that talk of being at the back of the queue is meant to encourage / discourage rather than actually reflects reality.
