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Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said today that she hopes Scotland will achieve independence and join the European Union, noting that Brexit was against the will of the Scots expressed in a 2016 referendum.
“We are now experiencing a hard ‘Brexit’ against our will, at the worst possible moment, in the midst of a pandemic and economic recession,” lamented Nicola Sturgeon in an intervention on the official website of his independence party, the SNP. days after the UK left the European single market and the customs union.
The prime minister reiterated her determination to hold a new referendum on Scottish independence, after which she lost in 2014, when 55% of Scots said “no” to separation from the UK.
The decision to call the referendum rests with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who firmly rejects it.
However, a major victory for the SNP in local elections next May would increase pressure on London to accept a new consultation.
According to the latest poll conducted for The Scotsman in mid-December, 58% of Scots now support a break with the UK, an unprecedented figure.
“As an independent member of the European Union, Scotland would be a partner and could build bridges, not just to build a stronger economy and a more just society, but to facilitate relations between the EU and the UK,” argued Sturgeon. .
While the British as a whole voted 51.9% in favor of ‘Brexit’ in 2016, 62% of the Scots spoke out against leaving the EU.
“During our nearly 50 years of membership, we have benefited greatly from the freedoms of the single market, including freedom of movement. More than 230,000 people from across Europe have made Scotland their home,” said Sturgeon, explaining that “they are friends and family “and that” they really want them to stay. “
“[Com a saída da EU], “Our citizens will be less secure and their right to work, study and live elsewhere in Europe will be restricted,” he lamented, noting that 2,000 Scots participated last year in the Erasmus university exchange program, which the British government abandoned. and replaced by his own international program.
“We did not want to leave and we look forward to joining you as soon as we become an equal partner,” concluded Sturgeon.
Brexit entered into force at 11:00 p.m. on December 31, almost a year after the United Kingdom officially left the European Union (EU) on January 31, 2020, following the 2016 popular referendum.
A new Trade and Cooperation Agreement, concluded on December 24, entered into force at 23:00 (the same time in London and midnight in Brussels), to succeed the post-Brexit transition period, during which the Kingdom Kingdom maintained access to the single market and respect for European standards.
Breaking the last ties of a relationship of almost 50 years, the agreement guarantees mutual access of products to the two markets without quotas or customs duties, but there are a series of trade barriers, such as more customs controls and bureaucracy in economic transactions.
The UK is no longer subject to the Court of Justice of the European Union and begins to determine national immigration policy, which will now treat Europeans like any foreign citizen. The British lose freedom of movement in the EU and access to various community programs.
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