Bonjour chers amis écossais! Good day Scottish friends! I’m very happy to be here.
Thanks so much to all the organizers for inviting me here. I am here as a representative of Europe for Scotland to speak on behalf of our network of European ambassadors.
My name is Claude, I am a retired scientist, with a French accent, and yesterday I arrived here in Scotland for the very first time in my life!
So today, I want to talk to you about 2 things :
– first, very quickly, about what we do at Europe for Scotland, and
– second, to tell you that Europeans LOVE YOU, BELIEVE IN YOU, and WANT YOU BACK!
Europe for Scotland is pan-European and non-profit campaign, composed of European citizens volunteering across Europe.
We set it up after Brexit to express solidarity with you, our Scottish friends, and to tell you: if you want to join the EU as an independent country, we would LOVE to welcome you back!
In spring 2021, we sent an open letter to European politicians, asking them to show support to Scotland ahead of a new independence referendum. We want the EU to speak out and say clearly to all Scots that they have FRIENDS in Europe and that they have a FUTURE in Europe. We want this to be super clear for you when the time comes – and it will – for you to choose again.
Mes Amis !
Of course – we will respect and support your choice, whether you want to stay in the UK or to become again what you were once before: a free, independent Scotland. And if you choose independence in Europe, I am here to remind you, you will not be alone : your friends in Europe are BY YOUR SIDE, we BELIEVE IN YOU, and we STAND WITH YOU.
So, I told you I was a scientist. You may want, like me, proof that we stand with you ?
Here it is : many famous Europeans have signed our open letter. Among them leading political scientists and democracy scholars, artists and writers, as well as famous Scots, including some of my fellow speakers tonight, like Lesley Riddoch . More than 15.000 Europeans have gone to EuropeForScotland.com to add their names to our open letter and make their voice heard.
Here is more proof: in 2022, Europe for Scotland called for volunteers to set up a network of ambassadors, with representatives in more than ten European countries. In France, through Franco-Scottish events, we connect with all who support Scotland and we work to broaden that support.
Alright, you say, but time is running out and I haven’t mentioned my second point!
Well, remember November 23rd of last year? When the Supreme Court ruled that Scotland must accept Westminster’s authority over its democracy ? We know you marched here in Edinburgh; it was a wet, wintry night. We felt the cold wind of that decision with you – as we stood in solidarity with you in Paris, in Berlin, in Rome, in Dublin and in Brussels ! We in Europe were with you, because we stand with you and we want you back !
– We want you back, because in 1295, long before the Treaty of the Union, you, free Scotland, were a builder of Europe with the Auld Alliance! France and Europe celebrates your contribution to this day. We remember, and we want you back !
– We want you back because your contribution to the Enlightenment helped define Europe’s ideals today. See our film – at the Heart of Europe – with Billy Kay on Europe for Scotland’s Youtube channel or website! You are an independent-minded nation of FREE THINKERS, builders of modern egalitarianism and democracy. Who can forget the essential human dignity of Robert Burns’s masterpiece “A Man’s a man for a’ That”, so beautifully sung at the inauguration of this Scottish Parliament? And with that free thinking comes your tremendous innovation in energy, research, technology, and a well-being economy. Scotland, we NEED your voice back in Europe ! Don’t you agree ?
– We want you back because you fought with us, not only in the Hundred Years’ War, but in the 1st and 2nd World Wars, where you stood with us for the ideals of the Europe we still want to become
– We want you to be a part of what you started
– We want young Scots to be able to come to Europe and live, study, work and build your future through the Erasmus programme
– We want Scottish workers and apprentices to enjoy free movement again
– We want Scottish companies to trade freely as full partners in the European single market
– We want you back, Scotland, because you are a country of inventors and creators and storytellers and entrepreneurs
– because you voted to stay, and because we believe that recognition and respect of your will is your democratic right.
In next year’s European Parliamentary Elections, Europe for Scotland will work hard to inform candidates of Scotland’s situation and lobby for Scotland’s swift return to Europe.
Mes amis, you asked us to keep a light on … Well, of course we’re keeping the bloody light on … Wasn’t it a Scot, James Bowman Lindsay, who gave us the lightbulb?
Scotland, we need and love your beautiful light and will do all we can to welcome you back in Europe !
Scotland, come home!
Chers amis, je vous remercie. Thank you.
with many thanks to Jane Mackinnon for her help and assistance