Salmond’s vision for The Isles

Alex Salmond has revealed some more details of the SNP’s plan for a Council of the Isles:

The SNP bases the plan on the current British-Irish Council, formed
after the Good Friday Agreement, which involves ministers from
Scotland, Wales, Ireland and England meeting to discuss areas of
concern. After Scottish independence, Salmond envisages the convening
of a ‘beefed-up’ version, which would be modelled on the Nordic
Council.

In that case, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Finland and Sweden have
joined together to introduce a common labour market, social security
and free movement across borders. (Scotland on Sunday)

Personally, this is how I’ve always seen the future of relations within these islands, although I’m not sure how much enthusiasm there would be in Ireland for deeper East-West co-operation. I suspect much will depend on how North-South relations develop.