Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday she would not rule out “associate citizenship” of the EU as an alternative for Scotland in order to avoid Brexit.
Scotland’s first minister told an audience in Dublin that “we should be open-minded about solutions that can help, whether it is Scotland or individuals, who want to retain their citizenship, their relationship with the EU”.
Sturgeon was reacting to questions from students at Trinity College Dublin about the notion of “associate citizenship” – which has been backed by Guy Verhofstadt, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator.
In her speech to the university’s Philosophical Society, Sturgeon said: “We shouldn’t be ruling out anything just now. People say to me – as I’m sure they are saying to [Verhofstadt] about that particular proposal – that is impossible, that could never work. Well, how do we know that?
“We are going into a period that is completely uncharted, in terms of what happens now.”
She added: ”We are going to have to be imaginative, innovative and creative in the period ahead, if we are going to come out of this Brexit scenario in good shape, without damaging the things that we value in the UK. So let us be open-minded about some of the suggestions.”
Verhofstadt said he was attracted to the idea “that people who are European citizens and saying they want to keep it have the possibility of doing so”.
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