SCOTTISH Brexit Minister Michael Russell has accused his UK counterpart of a lacking clarity on plans to leave the EU following a joint meeting aimed at giving the devolved administrations greater input into the process.
Brexit Secretary David Davis hailed the “constructive and amicable” meeting with his counterparts and laid out plans for the UK Government to hold monthly meetings of the EU Negotiation Joint Ministerial Committee.
Mr Davis said it that enables the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to share analysis as part of a “two-way information flow”.
But Mr Russell urged Westminster to provide “greater clarity and transparency” on Brexit ahead of the next scheduled meeting.
Following the meeting, Mr Russell said: “Although it is good that the process of involving the Scottish Government and the other devolved administrations is under way, more than four months after the referendum the UK Government has still not made its strategic intentions clear.
“There was a discussion over EU market access but we do not know whether UK ministers want to remain inside the single market or the customs union.
“This will remain a considerable problem as we continue to promote the interests of Scotland. The UK Government must provide greater clarity and transparency on its intentions.”
He added that he made it “absolutely clear” that membership of the single market “is essential for the economic prosperity of Scotland.”
The meeting It comes as the UK Government hopes the High Court judgment on how Article 50 will be triggered will be overruled on appeal to the Supreme Court next month.
Nicola Sturgeon has said Holyrood would be seeking to intervene against the attempt to overturn the High Court ruling.
She said she was not trying to veto the right of England and Wales to withdraw from the EU, but insisted the large majority of Scottish voters who backed Remain could not be “brushed aside as if they do not matter”.
Mr Davis said: “Today’s meeting was an important step in bringing the devolved administrations together with the UK Government to discuss how we can work together to get the best deal for the whole of the UK. Naturally, there are different standpoints around the table, but the meeting was constructive and amicable.
“We will meet regularly and share our latest thinking as the UK shapes its negotiating strategy.
‘We will work positively with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive as we implement the decision of the people of the UK to leave the EU.”
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers pledged to “take every opportunity” to highlight the region’s unique situation during the negotiations.
In a joint statement, Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness insisted they were united on the issue. It said: “Our attendance today sends out a clear signal that we are determined to work together to champion the interests of the people we represent.
“We have received assurances from the Prime Minister down that the Northern Ireland Executive will be fully represented in the negotiating process. We will ensure that those promises are honoured.
“We will continue to take every opportunity to re-iterate our agreed priorities and to emphasise the unique nature of our situation.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel