THE president of the SNP has hit out at what he called “misleading” reports around the party’s plan to send an envoy to Brussels in the wake of a General Election win.
At a special convention over the weekend, First Minister Humza Yousaf said the SNP would be making independence the explicit result of a vote for his party at the next General Election.
He said an SNP win in the next Westminster election would see preparations for independence begin, and his Government would seek negotiations on how to give “democratic effect” to the mandate with their UK equivalent.
As part of those preparations, Yousaf said there would be “a draft legal text on the withdrawal agreement, the drafting of an interim constitution, [and] the creation of a special envoy to Brussels because our case for independence is based on a Scotland in the European Union”.
He elaborated: “If we win the General Election, we will prepare the ground for Scotland to become an independent member state of the EU, by establishing an envoy position, a representative of the Scottish Government in Brussels.
"This position will be focussed on explaining the Scottish Government policy on independence to our fellow Europeans. We will reinforce to our European partners our commitment to a legal, constitutional democratic process.
"But we will also seek to enhance understanding that Scotland is an ancient nation, committed to the founding values of the EU, a country with much to gain from EU membership, but also much to offer as we navigate the challenges of the 21st century."
Reports in The Times, which were picked up by papers such as The Express, suggested that sources in the EU had “rebuffed” Yousaf’s proposals for an envoy.
“The EU as such deals only with the official governments of third countries,” one source told The Times, adding: “Of course we welcome the friendship of our Scottish friends and stand ready to engage with all parts of the UK within this new cycle of our relationship.”
The “official” government of a third country in this case would be the one in London.
However, that same Times report highlighted how, in 2022, Wales appointed former MEP Derek Vaughan to be its first Welsh Government Representative on Europe.
The Labour government in Cardiff said that Vaughan’s role would see him connect with the European Commission and MEPs to “promote the Welsh Government’s policy agenda in the EU” and “represent the Welsh Government in key European networks, such as the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions”.
As representation in Brussels (common across many sectors and by - as yet - non sovereign states ) not negotiation with Brussels is the clear and stated intention this @thetimes story is either woefully ill informed or deliberately misleading. Bad journalism in either case. https://t.co/HZCxpdtshA
— Michael Russell (@Feorlean) June 27, 2023
SNP president Michael Russell said that the “clear and stated intention” of Yousaf’s proposals for an envoy was common in Brussels and that reports suggesting the idea had been rebuffed from within Europe were “misleading”.
He wrote: “As representation in Brussels (common across many sectors and by – as yet – non-sovereign states) not negotiation with Brussels is the clear and stated intention this @thetimes story is either woefully ill-informed or deliberately misleading.
“Bad journalism in either case.”
The Times did also report that “senior figures with knowledge of how the EU works said that an envoy may be able to make the Scottish Government’s case to various individuals in Brussels”.
The row comes with Yousaf in Brussels to meet a range of stakeholders from the US and Europe, including Maros Sefcovic, the vice-president of the European Commission.
