EUROPE has a “lot of positive feeling towards” Scotland, with the Government seen as “reasonable and reliable” compared to the UK, an MEP has said.
German politician Terry Reintke also said the “leave a light on” message that was sent to Scotland in the wake of Brexit was still a sentiment among a “very large majority” of people in Europe.
Speaking in the first episode of The National’s new podcast, Our Friends in Europe, host Assa Samake-Roma asked the MEP about the view of Scotland in Europe.
Reintke said: “I think there is a lot of positive feeling towards Scotland because … I believe in every single constituency there was a majority for remaining in the European Union – so I think that is really seen and appreciated.
“Plus I think reversely to sometimes the performance of the UK Government, the Scottish Government has always been seen as a very reasonable, a very reliable and a very sensible partner.
“So you don’t have to agree with politicians or government on every single aspect, but if you see they make a credible argument, they make sense, they engage, they are willing to make compromise, I think that this is something that has really helped trust building over the past years.
“So I think in the European Union there is a lot of openness towards Scotland.”
Reintke also spoke of her feelings after the Brexit referendum, saying she felt she was in a “state of shock” and despair because it was the wrong decision.
She added: “I was one of the few MEPs who actually had been in the UK to campaign against Brexit and that’s not because people were not interested, but a lot of people were told they shouldn’t go, that it was more of a domestic matter, and that foreigners shouldn’t interfere in this discussion, which I overstepped a little bit.
“I went anyway and campaigned, I was going around – at that time I wasn’t in Scotland I was only campaigning in England and in Wales.
“But for me I think in retrospect it was also a little bit of a mistake that not more Europeans went to the UK and also made their voices heard in this campaign.
“Not to tell people how to vote, but just to say how much of a loss it would be for the rest of the European Union if the UK was to choose to leave the EU.”
Join us every month with episodes here on the website and Spotify as we chat with Our Friends in Europe.
