UK government muzzled Scottish ministers at EU meetings, Fiona Hyslop says

THE coalition government has blocked SNP ministers from speaking out at key EU meetings, it emerged on Tuesday.

THE coalition government has blocked SNP ministers from speaking out at key EU meetings, it emerged on Tuesday.

Fiona Hyslop addresses Scotsman conference in Edinburgh

• SNP ministers blocked from speaking at EU meetings

• Scotland needs more flexible immigration system - Hyslop

External affairs secretary Fiona Hyslop said she was told at a recent meeting in London that the Scottish Government should not even be making the request, prompting claims that it has “rolled back the gains of devolution”.

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The SNP government had hoped David Cameron’s election as Prime Minister would see Scotland given a greater role in Europe, with one Holyrood minister being allowed to take the lead for the UK in fisheries talks.

But Ms Hyslop told The Scotsman Conference on “A Question of Independence: Scotland’s Place in the World” that the latest snub reinforced the need for independence

The Cabinet secretary said an independent Scotland would be “fully involved in decision-making at an EU level, even including at European council meetings, representing Scotland’s interests on the issues that are important to us without having to seek permission to do so”.

She said: “Only last Monday, I was at a joint ministerial committee meeting on Europe [JMCE], where the Secretary of State for the UK government and the minister said we shouldn’t even be able to ask to speak at the European Council.

“So even now, the gains made under devolution in a European context are being rolled back. That’s an issue that has to be addressed.”

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said last night the UK government represented the interests of the entire UK and “actively engages” with the Scottish Government over European policy.

“The UK is the member state and Scotland is a member of the EU because its part of the UK,” she said.

“Scotland is therefore rightly represented in Europe by UK ministers, who lead for the

UK in negotiations and do so

in the interests in the whole of the UK.

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“Scottish ministers can attend and address EU councils as part of the EU delegation and are able to influence the UK line.”

The row over EU representation has been a thorny issue in recent years, as the SNP lobbied for Scottish ministers to have a greater say at Brussels council meetings.

The Nationalists appeared to have made a breakthrough two years ago, when Mr Cameron, fresh to his post as PM, allowed Scotland’s fisheries secretary,

Richard Lochhead, to lead the UK delegation in EU talks to resolve an international row dubbed the “mackerel wars”.

However, on that occasion Mr Lochhead had several years’ experience with the fisheries brief for Scotland, where the bulk of the UK fleet is based.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had wanted Jim Paice, a recently installed junior farming minister, to lead the UK delegation and initially rejected SNP calls for its man to replace him, but Mr Cameron personally overruled this decision. It prompted hopes of a greater role for Scottish ministers in EU talks in

future.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said last night: “The matter was discussed at the recent JMC(E), where different views were expressed. We are pleased the UK’s Europe minister, David Lidington, has now referred the issue to the JMC(E) Secretariat for consideration.”

Ms Hyslop noted that Scotland’s growth rates had lagged behind that of other small European countries.

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She said: “That’s why we should have control over economic decision-making in Scotland and [why] influential business figures such as Jim McColl have backed independence.

“One of the controls independence grants us to address this is control over the immigration system. We recognise the contribution that migrants can make, not just to economic growth, but also in schools and communities, helping to create

a rich and diverse tapestry of people.

“For too long, we have pressed the UK government for flexibilities to suit Scotland’s needs, to help us meet industry skill needs, and for too long we have been denied any such changes.”

It was the only issue that had managed to unite the CBI, STUC, Cosla, Universities Scotland and the Scottish Government, Ms Hyslop added.

Also speaking at yesterday’s conference was Dr Juliet Kaarbo, lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Edinburgh, who said an independent Scotland would have to forge a new identity as a “small country”. She described how Switzerland had its neutrality as its “niche”.

Jim Sillars, SNP MP for Govan in 1988-92, told delegates that Scotland should join the European Free Trade Association.