Sturgeon: Independent Scotland to Keep Pound, Apply for EU Membership

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that an independent Scotland would use the pound, because it is "a fully tradeable international currency."

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — An independent Scotland would keep pound sterling as its currency and apply for full EU membership, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Sunday.

"The starting point for consideration is that Scotland would use the pound… It's our currency, it's a fully tradeable international currency," Sturgeon told the Sky News broadcaster following former First Minister Alex Salmond suggestion that an independent Scotland might get rid of the pound.

The incumbent first minister added that she would apply for full membership of the European Union.

On Monday, Sturgeon said she would seek next week the authority to hold another independence referendum, which should take place between fall 2018 and spring 2019. She vowed to take steps to ensure that the region had a choice on whether to remain part of the United Kingdom under the hard Brexit deal or become an independent country, "able to secure a real partnership of equals" with the rest of the United Kingdom and the European Union.

On Thursday, May said that people should first learn the results of the Brexit talks before asking for another referendum, stressing that it was not the right time for such a vote to be held.

In September 2014, some 55 percent of the Scottish people voted against becoming an independent country.