Meeting of the Parliament 17 March 2015
I agree entirely. Internationalisation is one of the four priorities of Scotland’s economic strategy, which the First Minister and Deputy First Minister launched a couple of weeks ago. One top of that, I agree that too few companies in Scotland export to too few sectors in too few countries. It is a priority of the Scottish Government and agencies such as Scottish Development International to increase that pool, and small and medium-sized businesses must certainly be a part of that.
It is important that we do not just view our relationship with the EU as simply a business transaction. It is much more than that. President Juncker has been very clear that protecting the welfare of our citizens in the EU, promoting equality, improving conditions for workers, and strengthening consumer rights are an important part of the agenda and the relationship.
I also welcome the social, cultural and economic benefits that migration from the EU delivers to Scotland’s communities. The right to freedom of movement is also of huge benefit to Scots who move to live, study and work elsewhere in the EU. It is estimated that 171,000 people who were born elsewhere in the EU live in Scotland. It is very much a two-way exchange that benefits both Scotland and, I would hope, the rest of the European Union.
There is a lot of negative rhetoric about migration from Europe. A study from University College London says that, between 2001 and 2011, EU migrants were responsible for a net benefit to the UK of £20 billion. All of us as politicians have an important job to ensure that we do not let ourselves get dragged down into negativity or hostility in this debate.
Scotland wants to continue to be a constructive member of the EU. We have a general election coming up seven weeks on Thursday, and part of that discussion and debate has been about an in/out referendum. The Scottish Government does not support the Prime Minister’s proposals for such a referendum. We believe that it puts our membership, our businesses and our academic sector at risk.
As parliamentarians, we should not wait for that in/out referendum to put the positive case for Europe on the table. In that regard—