As mentioned in our latest updates, the next aim of our campaign is to secure support of prospective MEPs for an independent Scotland to rejoin the EU. We are happy to announce that this support is already being voiced.
Last Sunday the European Left, a transnational party that brings together more than 40 progressive organisations across Europe, unanimously backed a resolution recognising that “Scotland has the right to self-determination” and that “the Scottish Parliament, as the representative of the Scottish people, should have the right to call a referendum”.
Crucially, the several dozen progressive organisations that comprise the European Left contest European elections together and form one of the seven official groups of MEPs in the European Parliament, meaning that their resolution will have a direct impact on discourse in Brussels.
The motion explicitly acknowledged the democratic mandate for a new independence referendum “in both the current and previous parliamentary terms” and recognises that this mandate “has been blocked by the British Government, which commands only minority support in Scotland”.
It goes even further in denouncing “the extreme asymmetry of the United Kingdom” which means “decisions about Scotland’s future lie in the hands of the English electorate” and that “the lack of a written constitution means that there is no clear way to identify how Scotland could be given a route to determining its own future.”
The eloquent resolution was unanimously approved by delegates at last Sunday’s general assembly in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. It was proposed by the two Scottish organisations that are part of the European Left: Democratic Left Scotland and Socialists for Independence, whose joint efforts we applaud.
The European Left’s statement is a significant step forward in the European support for Scotland’s right to choose its future post Brexit. As such it should give new impetus to the debate on the legitimacy of the continuous denial of democracy of the UK government, prompting independent observers to reassess its democratic credentials as well as the sustainability of the UK’s current constitutional arrangements.
Most importantly for our purposes, the resolution recognises that “The European Parliament will be important in making the case for a referendum. This is because of likely negotiations over the Windsor Framework governing the status of the North of Ireland and a potential renegotiation of the relationship between the EU and the UK.”
As the conversation around Scotland’s future increases in relevance in European politics, the European Left’s support will certainly open the way to further rethinking in other political groupings. In this context, it is worth noting that already in 2014 the European Greens backed the stance of the Scottish Green party in favour of a YES vote that year and reinstated their support for a new independence referendum in 2022.
Together, the European Left and the European Greens comprise more than 15% of the MEPs in the current European Parliament and would provide a very strong base to build a majority in favour of recognising Scotland’s right to rejoin the EU as an independent country. Crucially, this is also our main goal for the new European Parliament which will be elected in June.
Speaking of the European elections: we have ambitious plans to make sure Scotland is part of the campaign even if Scottish citizens will not be able to vote and we will email you shortly about those. Meanwhile, let’s keep the momentum going!
Are you a Scot? Sign and share our petition asking to include Scotland in the conversation over EU enlargement!
And wherever you are in Europe, let’s ask the EU to prepare to welcome Scotland back. Let’s do it for our European democracy and our shared future!