Hansard

Scotland has been a positive and integral part of the European Union for more than 40 years. Engagement with the European Union and its institutions has been and will remain a core priority for this Government, but we now stand near a crossroads. The outcome of the general election has resulted in the publication of a United Kingdom referendum bill—the European Union Referendum Bill—which lays the ground for an in/out referendum in the UK before the end of 2017. Although the Scottish Government made it clear in the run-up to the general election that we do not support the holding of a referendum on EU membership, a referendum is now a reality and we must deal with it.

The Westminster Parliament is debating the European Union Referendum Bill at second reading today. On the proposed franchise, the bill fails to meet the gold standard of the independence referendum. On reform, the Scottish National Party Government set out our views in “Scotland’s Agenda for EU Reform”, which was published on 20 August 2014. Those reforms can be achieved without treaty change.

We will make the positive case for the benefits that EU membership brings to Scotland and, indeed, to the rest of the UK. We will say why it is vital that our membership of the EU continue, and why it is incumbent on all of us to make the case for continued EU membership as a referendum approaches.

The Scottish Parliament has debated the importance of EU membership on a number of occasions, and there has been a strong consensus that continued EU membership matters to Scotland. An in/out referendum is now an inevitability, so we must continue to spell out the case for Scotland’s EU membership, going forward. In making that positive case, we will ensure that the facts are set out in order to tackle head on the unfounded fears and smears of those who want to see an EU exit for the UK, as they present them from a narrow isolationist position.

The First Minister was in Brussels last week, where she set out Scotland’s commitment to the EU in a speech to the European Policy Centre. Central to the First Minister’s argument for membership was that, as a country of 5 million people, we understand that we cannot act in isolation and that partnership among independent states is essential for progress, so the fundamental vision of the EU—of independent nations working together for a common good—appeals to us.

Co-operation is critical to success in the EU. In many areas, delivering the greater good can be successful only when 28 member states act together. It seems to be hopelessly optimistic to conclude that member states acting alone could deliver significant emissions reductions in the fight against climate change, or that they could take forward plans to develop a North Sea grid that will one day allow countries that border the North Sea to trade renewable energy.

The EU must look outward and act globally, or Europe will become the old continent of the past when the rest of the world moves on without it. Of course, the immediate economic arguments that support membership remain critical and cannot be overstated. Membership places our businesses within the world’s largest economy, whose 500 million citizens enjoy some of the highest standards of living on the globe.

About 20 million businesses operate in the EU single market supplying goods and services to consumers and businesses both in the EU and on the global market. The EU is a vital export market for Scottish firms; it accounted for almost half of Scotland’s international exports in 2013, and is worth a massive £12.9 billion each year. It has been estimated that those exports support more than 300,000 jobs.

Ernst & Young published a survey last month that confirmed that Scotland has become the most successful part of the UK outside London for attracting inward investment projects. Much of that is due to the skills of our workforce and the quality of life that we can offer, but for many investors our EU membership is a vital selling point. About 40 per cent of the 2,100 foreign-owned companies in Scotland in 2013 were owned by firms that are based in the EU. Realistically, how many such investors would come to Scotland if we were to find ourselves outside the EU? Let us not forget the benefits that EU funding delivers to Scotland, including €985 million of structural funds over the period 2014-20, or the €572 million of competitive funding that was won by Scottish universities in the period 2007-13.

However, membership of the EU goes beyond the purely economic rationale. The experience of the EU and our vision for the EU is one in which we can create a more equal and more inclusive society. The Scottish Government believes strongly in a Europe that tackles the question of social justice. The EU has been at the forefront of protecting the welfare of its citizens, promoting gender equality and improved conditions for workers, and strengthening consumer rights. That is the type of EU that we must continue to develop: a vision of a European Union of members who embrace and promote human rights through the convention on human rights, rather than dismiss them or seek to refute them, and that deals collectively with humanitarian issues—for example the Mediterranean refugees—with compassion and not hostility.

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. We estimate that 171,000 people who were born elsewhere in the EU currently live in Scotland. Contrary to the claims that one hears elsewhere about immigration acting as a drain on our society, it is estimated by University College London that EU migrants to the UK made a net contribution to the UK of about £20 billion between 2001 and 2011. Losing such an income would cost all of us.

By being a productive EU member, we can ensure that our voice is clearly heard in the world and that we are able to shape EU laws and policies to ensure that they are of maximum benefit to our citizens. Alternatives to EU membership, such as joining the European Free Trade Association, offer no such opportunity for the UK and would transform its status from law maker to mere law taker. As the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs highlighted in an interview a matter of days ago:

“In the EEA we have to implement all EU directives… we’re not around the table when they’re discussed in Brussels.”

None of us here today will be able to vote to amend the referendum bill, but that should not stop us expressing our views on it—in particular, on where it falls short of expectations. The Scottish Government believes that the bill falls short in a number of areas. The 16 and 17-year-olds who voted in our referendum proved themselves to be the engaged, thoughtful and concerned citizens we always knew they would be. The case for letting them vote in the EU referendum is overwhelming.