The Scottish government is preparing to hold private talks about rejoining the single market without becoming a full member of the EU.
Senior figures in the SNP believe that membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) along the lines of Norway’s arrangements with the EU would be financially and politically viable if a second referendum went in favour of independence from the UK.
The possibility of Scotland being fast-tracked into the EU was contested during the 2014 referendum and party officials now accept that a looser arrangement in which it was inside the single market but outside the bloc may be more feasible, without ruling out the possibility of full membership later.
Although membership of the EEA would still have to be agreed by the