Proposals for an independent Scotland to charge students from the rest of the UK tuition fees but not those from other EU countries have been defended by Nicola Sturgeon.
The deputy first minister said it had nothing to do with nationality, but the close proximity of the countries and high tuition fees in England.
Scottish students risked being crowded out of courses if universities did not charge tuition fees to students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, she said.
EU rules prohibit member states discriminating on the grounds of nationality, which means Scotland has to give free university education to students from outside the UK.
But Scotland can charge tuition fees for students from the rest of the UK as the EU regulations do not prevent discrimination within member states.
The Scottish Government’s white paper on independence proposed maintaining the status quote if there is a Yes vote in next year’s referendum.
Under European laws, Scottish ministers would need to make an “objective justification” for doing this.
Ms Sturgeon told the Scottish Parliament’s European and external relations committee yesterday: “We believe that can be done because of the particular circumstances of the geography of Scotland and the rest of the UK and the policy that exists in other parts of the UK.”
Labour’s Patricia Ferguson pressed Ms Sturgeon saying: “The only rationale you have offered so far is nationality.
“You cannot discriminate against other members of the EU based on their nationality. I’ve heard no other rationale for discriminating against students from the rest of the UK other than the fact that they’re not Scottish and where they live there happens to be a fee payment.”
Ms Sturgeon replied: “It’s not about nationality, it’s about the fact that we have a set of circumstances flowing from geography and the cross-border flows of students between Scotland and the rest of the UK and the consequences for Scottish education of a policy decision taken at Westminster to charge its own students.
“That raises implications for Scottish universities and that is the ‘objective justification’ for the position we have taken.”