Alistair Carmichael, the Scottish Secretary, says EU rules state nations can only apply after gaining sovereignty http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/579309/s/386fe68b/sc/7/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cnews0Cuknews0Cscottish0Eindependence0C10A7127320CScotland0Emust0Ewait0Euntil0E20A160Eto0Eapply0Efor0EEU0Emembership0Eafter0Eindependence0Bhtml/story01.htm