Report on the third of six events in the seminar series: Security in Scotland, with or without constitutional change

Key points:

• Scotland to an extent already resembles a small western European state in its police and security arrangements.
• Scotland faces the same choices as its comparative neighbours in terms of geopolitics and NATO, working with bigger partners, and cooperation with the EU on ‘freedom, security and justice’ matters.
• Political differences with neighbours are not necessarily a hindrance to security cooperation.
• The EU is often flexible and accommodating in its ‘freedom, justice and security’ approach to European states, whether members or not.
• Being a small country is not necessarily a hindrance to undertaking ambitious security sector reforms.
• In comparative European terms, smallness is no hindrance to being secure.