Scottish position on EU relationship

‘Realistic and workable’ proposals for Scotland’s future relationship with the European Union have been submitted to the UK Government by Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell.

Mr Russell has put forward a contribution to the UK Government’s White Paper, despite the fact a full draft of that document has still not been shared with the Scottish Government.

The contribution, which was sent to the UK Government on Monday, sets out the Scottish Government’s previously stated preferred position on issues such as the economy and security, to protect the interests of Scotland and the UK as a whole.

Following the latest meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations, the Cabinet Secretary said:

“Brexit is only a matter of months away, but we still have not seen the UK Government position on key issues such as customs arrangements, emerging options for negotiation positions or the full draft White Paper.

“That is why, in the absence of detailed and meaningful discussion with the UK Government, we now feel compelled to publish our own realistic and workable proposals for our future relationship with the European Union. This reiterates and builds on the consistent, detailed and evidence-based positions put forward by the Scottish Government since the EU referendum in 2016.

“We continue to make the case for continued membership of the European Single Market and the Customs Union as a compromise that respects the democratic decision of both Scotland and other parts of the UK. While that respect has yet to be reciprocated, we continue to work in a constructive spirit in sharing this publication with the UK Government – and in that spirit I hope the Prime Minister will place it on the table as a contribution when the UK Cabinet meet tomorrow.”

Background

The Scottish Government’s contribution to the UK Government’s White Paper on the Future Relationship with the European Union draws on the wide range of publications from the Scottish Government setting out the position on Scotland’s interests in the future UK-EU relationship.

Those interests have been fully set out elsewhere by the Scottish Government, including: in Scotland’s Place in Europe (December 2016), response to the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) (November 2017), People, Jobs and Investment (January 2018), Population Needs and Migration Policy (February 2018) and in Security, Judicial Co-operation and Law Enforcement (June 2018), Economic Impacts of Scenarios for Scottish and UK Seafood Industries Post EU Exit (June 2018), and Developing an Environment Strategy for Scotland (June 2018).