The Kovid crisis has reminded us that never before have we been connected as a people. All over the world, countries face the same challenge of protecting people. With the development of vaccines – an impressive project resulting from international cooperation – we can now look forward to a more positive future. And it is precisely this collective spirit that will become more important than ever as we begin to rebuild economies and societies.

Unfortunately we are in Scotland At the same time in the middle of a completely different project, driven by completely different values: Brexit.

In Scotland, an overwhelming majority of people voted to remain in the European Union.

it is not surprising. The core values ​​of the European Union – human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law and respect for human rights – are also values ​​of Scotland.

More than 230,000 people Europe Found my home in Scotland. They are part of us, they are our friends and family. We want them to stay. And in turn, I believe that Scotland has made a significant contribution to meeting European objectives. In fact, Scotland has much to offer in terms of the major challenges facing the European Union, such as the climate emergency and the much more inclusive »general good economy«.