Ireland is more influential and powerful than the UK for the first time in its history, according to a leading SNP MEP.
Alyn Smith said the government in Dublin had the "upper hand" over its counterpart in London.
The SNP politician said the UK's standing had been diminished due to Brexit.
However, Smith said that by contrast the government in Dublin had "made clear that Ireland's future lies in Europe".
Smith said that as a consequence Ireland benefited from the "solidarity" of the other EU nations.
He said that had Scotland voted Yes in 2014 it could have had a similar status to Ireland.
"Ireland proves what independence in Europe actually means, a platform on which to shine and the solidarity of 26 other friends and neighbours to fall back on," Smith said.
Smith made the claim ahead of a visit by Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to the European Parliament on Wednesday.
Smith said: "For the first time in the Republic's history Ireland has the upper hand in dealings with London, because Dublin has made clear that Ireland's future lies in Europe.
"From Scotland's perspective it makes it all the more poignant that had we voted Yes in 2014 we would be in the same hugely powerful position. But we are where we are and it is imperative that we continue to build on the links we have with Ireland, and intensify the Edinburgh-Dublin co-operation that has blossomed in recent years.
"It underlines where Ireland is that the Taoiseach is coming to address Parliament not on Brexit but on the future of Europe. His ideas are sensible and credible and are not just being listened to they're influential. The EU needs to reform, and is going to reform, and Ireland is at the heart of it."
However, a UK Government spokeswoman said Britain would remain an influential nation in Europe after Brexit.
The spokeswoman said: "We will negotiate a deal which works for Scotland and the whole of the UK as we forge a bold and ambitious future economic partnership with the EU."
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