Partnership with the EU is "essential" if Scotland is to make progress, Nicola Sturgeon has declared. The First Minister said the country could not "act in isolation".

In a keynote speech in Brussels, she also suggested Scots were less concerned than people elsewhere in the UK about the loss of national sovereignty within the EU.

Ms Sturgeon's comments came as she addressed the European Policy Centre think tank.

She used the widely-trailed speech to argue for reform of the EU, to press for changes to the UK Government's in/out referendum on UK membership, and to urge Prime Minister David Cameron to talk up the benefits of belonging to the 28-state bloc.

Explaining the SNP's long established desire for "independence in Europe," she told an audience of academics and officials: "As a country of five million people, we understand that we can't act in isolation.

"Whether as part of the UK or as an independent country, we know that partnership is essential for progress.

"And so the fundamental vision of the EU - of independent nations working together for a common good - appeals to us.

"And some of the concerns which often get raised about Europe in the UK media - especially about sovereignty - possibly carry less weight in Scotland.

"After all, Scotland has been pooling sovereignty, in one form or another, for many years."

She said Scotland would have remained an outward looking nation had it voted to leave the UK last year.

She added: "There is nothing contradictory about independent countries recognising their interdependence and choosing to pool some sovereignty for mutual advantage.

"On the contrary, it is the way of the modern world.

"And as part of that, I think we're essentially comfortable with the idea of overlapping identities.

"We know that you can be Scottish and British, Scottish and European, Scottish and Polish or Scottish and Pakistani.

"That's one of the reasons that the independence referendum last year - and this is a credit to both sides - was such a peaceful, inclusive, democratic debate."

She said Scotland had much to offer and learn from the EU.

"The example of the smaller member states, many of whom have only taken their place in the European family in recent years, often within a few short years of gaining their independence, shows that valued national sovereignty can be retained while countries also work together for the common good," she said.

As expected, Ms Sturgeon urged Mr Cameron to think again about the rules for the in/out EU referendum due to be held by the end of 2017.

She called on him to give 16- and 17-year-olds and EU nationals living in the UK a vote.

She also repeated her demand for a veto over Britain's exit from the EU if a majority of Scots voted to stay.

She warned of an "unstoppable" clamour for a second independence referendum if Scotland were to be taken out of the EU in such circumstances.

Scottish Labour's deputy leader Kezia Dugdale said: "It's encouraging that Nicola Sturgeon recognises the value of being part of a larger union.

"Instead of talking up the political consequences of a UK exit from the EU, those of us who support staying in the European Union should concentrate all our efforts on making the case for it."