Nicola Sturgeon to attend Green pro-Europe event

Nicola Sturgeon with European flag - Image credit: FM's Flickr

Nicola Sturgeon is to attend a pro-European event hosted by the Scottish Greens later this week.

The European Green Party will hold its 25th council meeting in Glasgow on Friday where the First Minister will meet with Green MSPs, MEPs and other politicians to discuss Scotland’s place in Europe.

The event, which the Greens say will be Scotland’s largest pro-European event since the EU referendum, will be attended by Green politicians from across Europe.

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Patrick Harvie MSP, the Scottish Greens’ co-convener, says the event will demonstrate the size of the party’s “extensive network” as well as the Greens’ commitment to working with “other political parties” to campaign for Scotland to stay in Europe.

Harvie said: “As Greens, we have an extensive network of politicians and campaigners across the continent who share our goal of staying in Europe that we can tap into and we look forward to hearing from them in Glasgow.

“Instead of merely commenting from the side lines, and accepting that Scotland should be dragged out of the European Union, we invite other like-minded parties to join us in offering solutions to the uncertainty being caused by Brexit.”

It is expected that Green politicians from the continent will express sympathy and solidarity for Scotland’s position, with one German MEP saying he wants to help Scotland retain “full membership in the European family”.

Reinhard Bütikofer MEP and EGP co-chairperson: "European Greens are coming to Glasgow in order to show our solidarity with the determination of the Scottish people to resist Brexit and to hold on to Scottish full membership in the European family."

The event follows the First Minister’s trip to Dublin today, where she will be meeting with Irish president Michael Higgins as well as other politicians and business leaders as she seeks to build support for Scotland’s ongoing relationship with Europe.