French SNP MEP Christian Allard: Why we must rejoin the EU

Scotland has changed phenomenally in that time. When Winnie first took Scotland’s case to Europe, the debacle of the 1979 referendum was still in the future and Margaret Thatcher was merely leader of the opposition.

There was no Scottish Parliament and independence was little more than a pipe dream. We came devastatingly close to making it a reality in 2014 and we’ll finish the job properly in the next referendum later this year.

Europe too has changed fundamentally. The old European Economic Community has evolved into a European Union and welcomed in countries from the former Eastern Bloc.

The EU continues to evolve. This week saw a parliamentary debate on the proposed Conference on the Future of Europe, where the EU will discuss its future path amid emerging global challenges. Whilst the UK turns in on itself and harks back to days of imperial glory, the EU adapts to the needs of the future.

READ MORE: Kirsty Hughes: What are Scotland’s choices as we leave the EU?

That’s not to say that the EU doesn’t face real challenges. If Brexit was fundamentally about the EU then it was to mute the progressive agenda of the European project. And beyond the UK, Europe is under attack – a populist attack – which requires international cooperation to be resisted.

Scotland has a vital role to play in fending off this attack. If Brexit can be seen to epitomise the rising tide of populism, then so Scotland’s rejection of it can be used to spearhead the counter attack.

In Scotland our devolved institutions are based on European laws: the foundations of modern Scotland come from the EU. Our chamber at Holyrood, designed by a Catalan, is modelled on the European Parliament’s own hemicycle.

And an overwhelming majority in the Scottish Parliament and in wider Scottish society wish to continue to promote outward-looking, internationalist European values, in stark contrast to the Westminster agenda.

These values are so firmly at the heart of our vision for Scotland – and so firmly at the heart of our hopes for Europe.

In a couple of weeks Scotland will be dragged out of Europe, if only on a temporary basis. I, as a Scotsman holding French citizenship, am expected to apply for settled status in order to remain in my own home.

READ MORE: Scotland should be allowed into EU ‘in an unobstructed way’

I chose to live in Scotland and Scotland chose to remain in the EU, yet myself and countless others who have become Scottish are expected to subscribe to this humiliating process. News that I won’t be “automatically deported” from my adopted homeland should I fail to comply does not give grounds for much celebration!

Scotland’s values are different and Scotland’s values are progressive. Voltaire said many years ago that “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation”.

And from the few short months I’ve spent in the European Parliament, I know that there is tremendous goodwill towards Scotland – and our fellow EU citizens are once more looking to Scotland with a sense of hope. We may be exiting the EU for now – but we are also a future member state and have a progressive message to sell.

Winnie Ewing, Madame Ecosse

In my time as an MEP I’ve been conscious of the efforts of my SNP colleagues who went before me. Winnie Ewing for example was instrumental in setting up the original Erasmus scheme – and thousands of students have since benefitted from international exchange.

Future generations must not have their opportunities cut off by the disaster of Brexit – so it’s imperative that we work to win our independence at the referendum in late 2020.

We have one short plenary session ahead of us in Brussels when the UK withdrawal agreement will be voted on. There will be little in the way of pomp or ceremony because Europe will have nothing to celebrate.

But the people of Scotland have made their view clear. I finished a speech in Strasbourg this week with the words “ce n’est qu’un au revoir, nous nous retrouverons”.

This isn’t Scotland’s farewell; we’ll be back.