Sturgeon: We Will Not Spare Any Effort to Remain in the European Union

Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, stated on BBC television on Sunday that Scotland will not spare any effort to remain in the European Union, including a potential veto of the UK's exit from the EU. Scotland, home to five million Scots, insisted on remaining in the EU with a 62% to 38% vote in a referendum on Thursday, while British citizens overall voted 52% in favor of leaving the union. Since the announcement of the referendum results on Friday, the First Minister has repeatedly emphasized her government's determination to remain in the EU, even considering the possibility of holding another referendum on independence from the UK if it is the only option to stay in the EU, which she deemed 'very likely.' On Sunday, Sturgeon reiterated on BBC that the process of the UK's exit from the EU will have 'deeply damaging and painful consequences,' and she will strive to protect Scotland from these repercussions. She also stressed that she will certainly ask the local parliament not to allow Scotland to exit the EU. 'The conditions for separation from the UK have changed.' Residents of Scotland voted to remain in the United Kingdom in the 2014 independence referendum, but now Sturgeon believes that the Scots' negative vote on leaving the EU has changed the circumstances regarding potential independence from the UK. She stated on BBC that the results of the EU exit referendum legitimize a reconsideration of Scotland's independence. The First Minister emphasized that 'the grounds and conditions have significantly changed, and the Britain that Scotland wanted to remain in back in 2014 no longer exists.' In 2014, during the independence referendum, 55% of Scotland's residents insisted on remaining in the UK, but a recent poll published by the Scottish newspaper Sunday Post shows that now nearly 60% of Scots want to separate from the UK, which would end the 300-year union between Scotland and England within the framework of the United Kingdom. 'Independent negotiations' with the EU. The First Minister of Scotland, who is the most senior executive official of the local government in this region, also emphasized that she will conduct negotiations independently from London to remain in the EU. On Saturday, after a local cabinet meeting in Scotland, Sturgeon reiterated that they are seeking to have immediate discussions with European institutions and other EU members to explore all options for maintaining Scotland's membership in the EU. EU officials have not yet officially responded to Scotland's expressed desire to join the union. However, in Germany, a close ally of Angela Merkel welcomed the prospect of an 'independent Scotland' joining the EU. According to Reuters, Gunther Krichbaum, head of the European Affairs Committee of the German Parliament, deemed the success of a potential independence referendum in Scotland likely and stated that [in such a case] we must quickly respond to the membership request of a friendly European country.