The European Commission said on Tuesday that the EU is ready for Brexit negotiations. Commission officials declined to speculate on whether an independent Scotland could take over Britain's EU membership once the country leaves the union.

"This is a question which is as interesting as it is hypothetical, and I'm sure there are many, many academics, lawyers, think tankers, and people far more intelligent than I am, who will be pleased to think about this hypothetical scenario. The only thing that I know is that we're waiting for a formal notification and then the negotiating process will start and this negotiating process will be one between the European Union and Her Majesty's Government. I don't know the date when the letter, the notification, of the United Kingdom is going to arrive, but what I do know is that we are ready. We are close, and we are ready,” Alexander Winterstein, EU Commission spokesperson said.