McSmorgasbord - What post-brexit Scotland can learn from the Nordics

The late Paddy Bort was absolutely right. A few months after the European referendum in 2016, the Edinburgh University academic and Nordic Horizons stalwart predicted that Brexit would spark a renewed interest in Scotland’s small, successful wee neighbours.

Westminster has insisted that all British nations must leave together. But the Nordic countries and their devolved territories enjoy a veritable smorgasbord of relationships with the EU - doubtless there’s an arrangement in there that might suit Scotland too.

Would an independent Scotland need the support and shelter of full EU membership - or could the nation better stand at a distance or outside the EU altogether?

These questions have been faced and resolved by five Nordic nations and their autonomous territories within the last 40 years. Clearly, there's something for Scotland to learn.

So, our Nordic Horizons policy group organised a conference two months after the referendum with speakers from almost every Nordic nation - some like the Faroes are outside the EU, others like Norway are in the EEA ‘halfway house’ and others like Finland, are enthusiastic members of both the EU and its single currency. But would the wider Scottish public really be interested in what they had to say?

Paddy - ever the optimist - was certain that a book written by ‘our Nordic friends,’ and lightly edited by ourselves, would be popular. So, it proved, though Paddy died before publication.

We hope the combination of personal experience and expert insights give this book a hands-on feel that’s pragmatic and thought-provoking, challenging and instructive, full of amazing stories and useful comparisons - to enrich the debate about Scotland's post-Brexit future as a Nordic neighbour.