First Minister's meeting with Maroš Šefčovič: FOI release

Information requested

• The minutes of the meeting between Humza Yousaf and the European Commission's Vice President for Interinstitutional Relations, Maroš Šefčovič, that happened on 28 June 2023.
• Any briefing material that Humza Yousaf received leading up to this meeting.
• Was the topic of Scottish independence brought up or discussed in this meeting. If so, what exactly was said.
• Was the topic of Scotland rejoining the European Union brought up or discussed in this meeting. If so, what exactly was said.

Response

Briefing material and a note from the meeting are attached at Annex A and B. As per the note at Annex A, Scottish Independence and Scotland joining the EU were not discussed. Whilst we have tried to provide as much information as possible in relation to your request, some of the information you have requested is subject to exemptions under Sections 32 and 38 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act (FOISA).

Under section 32(1)(a) of FOISA, information is exempt from disclosure if disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially:

• relations between the UK and any other State;
• relations between the UK and any international organisation or international court;
• the interests of the UK abroad; or
• the promotion or protection by the UK of its interests abroad.

In this case, wording has been redacted covering the Vice-President's account of the EU and member states' future energy and other domestic policies and the EU-UK relationship. It is not for the Scottish Government to publish this information on the European Commission’s behalf. Section 38 of FOISA pertains to the publication of personal information. In this case, anecdotal information about meeting participants’ family members has been redacted.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

202300363962_Annex A and B

File type

7 page PDF

File size

221.6 kB