THE European Parliament has will keep an office in Scotland after Brexit.
The Parliament’s Edinburgh facility will stay open until at least the end of next year to provide advice to EU citizens living in Scotland and Scottish organisations seeking to maintain EU links.
The Scottish Government wants the office to become permanent. The decision to keep a presence in Scotland was taken by the parliament’s president, Antonio Tajani, and his senior team.
SNP MEP, Alyn Smith, told the BBC it “proves the active interest in what’s going on in Scotland”.
The Labour MEP, David Martin, also said that made “absolute sense” because the UK will likely be operating under EU rules during that period. He said the parliament would also be aware of the political situation, where the current Scottish Government seeks independent membership of the EU.
A decision on the longer-term future of the office will be made later this year.
Pro-Brexit MEP, David Coburn, formerly of UKIP, said the Edinburgh office was a “waste of money” and would duplicate the work of EU consulates.
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