The EU could be torn apart with other states likely to follow the UK’s lead and hold membership referenda, Scottish MEPs believe.
An email from the SNP’s Alyn Smith, seen by The Courier, floats the idea to politicians from across the continent that the June 23 vote may be the beginning of uncertain times for the Union.
And, in a question and answer session with journalists in Brussels, Mr Smith’s colleague Ian Hudghton appeared to back his case, as did Conservative Ian Duncan.
In the email, Mr Smith wrote: “Your country may not be having an EU referendum, yet. However, the last few months have convinced me that we should all remind ourselves of the need to make a positive case for Europe.
“The status quo cannot be taken for granted, and history proves our member states are more than capable of regress as well as advancement.”
All three MEPs talked about the rise of Euroscepticism in many countries, arguing it was not simply a British issue.
Mr Hudghton argued other member states would use the UK vote to try and make gains for themselves.
He said: “If it’s a no vote and it’s an exit then people are going to be looking at what the exit package looks like.
“If it’s a vote to remain, which I hope it is, then folk are going to be looking at the alleged special deal and asking if there’s something in it for us.”
Mr Duncan added: “When it comes to what happens next, to an extent that is in the hands of the British people but thereafter it is in the hands of the European people who, when it comes to the European Parliament elections, are remarkably reluctant to turn out.
“A colleague in Croatia was telling me it was 19% at the recent election. That is a recently acceded member state.”
In the Q&A, Mr Smith said one of the most significant problems was that “nobody does Europe properly” and pointed out that the Europe ministers in both Scotland and the UK as a whole are junior positions without a seat at the Cabinet table.
He said: “I could name you politicians in every party, Europe is always somewhere else. There has always been that disconnect between domestic politics and an EU level and it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy that the EU level is denigrated, undermined.
“We are discussing domestic policy about technical things, just in a different place.
“We’ve got a bad case of it, lots of other countries have the same thought that Europe is always somewhere else. I never want to go through this again.”