Tuesday

5th Dec 2023

Sturgeon: Scotland should have option to stay in EU

  • Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland's interests need to be protected (Photo: First Minister's Office)

Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon said Monday (25 July) that the parts of the UK that voted to stay in the EU should have the option to remain.

She reiterated again that if Scotland’s interests cannot be protected during the exit talks, Scotland must have the right to consider another independence referendum.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

“We can seek to find - or create - a solution that enables Scotland's distinctive voice to be heard and our interests to be protected within the UK. Or we can consider again the option of independence," Sturgeon said.

In a speech in Edinburgh, the Scottish leader called on the UK government's negotiating position during the exit talks to allow those parts of the UK that voted to leave the EU the option of doing so, while those parts which voted to stay, such as Scotland, should have the option to remain.

Sturgeon warned that the UK is heading for a "hard" rather than a "soft" exit from the EU, with limited access to the single market and significant restrictions on free movement.

She lashed out against the Leave camp for failing to prepare for a win at the June referendum, and called former prime minister David Cameron's decision to call the ballot "reckless".

“We don’t yet have any clear idea of what a Leave vote means in practice, while ‘Brexit means Brexit’ is intended to sound like a strong statement of intent, it is in fact just a soundbite that masks a lack of any clear sense of direction," she said.

Sturgeon on the other hand welcomed UK prime minister Theresa May's commitment not to trigger article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty until there is a common UK approach to the exit negotiations.

But she added that she is prepared to take into account all options, including independence, to defend Scotland's interests, arguing that the situation has vastly changed since 2014, when Scots voted to remain in the UK.

“Scotland didn’t choose to be in this situation, and our vital interests are at stake with potential consequences that will affect all of us, so I have a duty to do all that I can to protect those interests," Sturgeon said.

She highlighted five key interests for Scotland to be protected: safeguarding free movement of labour; access to the single market and a say on shaping single market rules; retaining EU funding; and ensuring the continued protection of workers' rights.

Scottish voters backed remaining in the EU by 62 percent to 38 percent in June's referendum, while the UK as a whole voted by 52 percent to 48 percent to leave.

Scotland not giving up on EU membership

Scotland's EU spokesman has said the country is a special case that would not act as a precedent for places such as Catalonia or Corsica if it split from the UK to join the EU.

Scottish MEP: 'Independence not our first option'

A Scottish split from the UK remains on the table, a prominent Scottish MEP has said, as British PM Theresa May heads to Scotland to calm nerves on post-brexit EU relations.

Opinion

The EU's U-turn on caged farm animals — explained

A European citizens' initiative — signed by 1.4 million people — saw the EU Commission promise to ban cages for 300 million farmed animals. Then the farming lobby got involved.

Opinion

'Pay or okay?' — Facebook & Instagram vs the EU

Since last week, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta corporation is forcing its European users to either accept their intrusive privacy practices — or pay €156 per year to access Facebook and Instagram without tracking advertising.

Latest News

  1. Protecting workers' rights throughout the AI revolution
  2. Russia, the West, and the geopolitical 'touch-move rule'
  3. Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
  4. EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
  5. COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion
  6. Optimising Alzheimer's disease health care pathways across Europe
  7. Georgian far-right leader laughs off potential EU sanctions
  8. The EU's U-turn on caged farm animals — explained

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us