2013 puts that in the context of the 2014 Indyref, where the Spanish were against the possibility of independent Scotland being considered as a successor state

2013 puts that in the context of the 2014 Indyref, where the Spanish were against the possibility of independent Scotland being considered as a successor state of the UK + thus automatically gaining EU membership. Nowadays the context is on independent Scotland applying to join as a non-EU member, which no one has made any objections to.