Alyn Smith, MEP: do not let Scotland down!
SNP MEP Alyn Smith addressed the European Parliament making clear Scotland’s desire to continue our membership of the EU – and received an unprecedented standing ovation from MEPs.
Addressing the meeting of the Parliament, Alyn Smith said:
“I represent Scotland within this house and where I’m proudly Scottish, I’m also proudly European.
“I want my country to be internationalist, cooperative, ecological, fair, European – and the people of Scotland along with the people of Northern Ireland and the people of London and lots and lots of people in Wales and England also voted to remain within our family of nations. I demand that that status and that esprit européen
be respected.
“Colleagues, there are a lot of things to be negotiated and we will need cool heads and warm hearts, but please remember this: Scotland did not let you down. Please, I beg you, cher colleagues, do not let Scotland down now.”
See more about Alyn Smith ‘s speech here.
COAST: seriously alarming
“We are alarmed at the referendum result in favour of leaving”, says Andrew Binnie from COAST “as we believe it will undermine the hard-won environmental legislation which underpins Scotland’s 2010 Marine Act, not to mention a raft of other important pieces of environmental legislation. These have made a real difference to the quality of our fragile natural environment”
Probable Erosion of Important Directives
“It has taken decades of hard work involving many UK/Scottish experts, civil servants and organisations to get Directives such as the Bathing Water, Water and Marine Strategy Framework Directives in place”, continues Mr Binnie .”The implementation of these has greatly benefited the people of Scotland who have seen a real improvement in water quality, particularly in our estuaries and cities. We no longer dump raw sewage into the Clyde for instance and fish stocks in the North Sea are showing signs of recovery. It is critical we continue to build on existing progressive legislation.”
Real danger
There is a real danger that without the backing of EU Directives the implementation of marine and fresh water legislation will be delayed, diluted and vulnerable to even greater industry lobbying. COAST is not uncritical of the EU but it is already clear that some (not all) sections of the fishing industry view ‘Brexit’ as an opportunity to discard regulations they are not in favour of ‘over the side’. We should expect the roll out of Scotland’s MPA network to be challenged. This would be a tragedy not just for the environment but also for fishers and coastal communities. It is self-evident that a healthy marine environment will support many more jobs than a depleted and degraded one.
No trade off
Environmental legislation must not be traded off in any negotiations. As a community organisation fighting for better management of Arran and Clyde waters, COAST is particularly concerned that marine legislation and the implementation of Scotland’s Marine Protected Area network remain on course.
CPMR calls for unity
The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) has expressed its disappointment that the UK has voted to leave the EU, but has called for EU Members and Regions across Europe to remain united and to work together to build a better future.
CPMR Secretary General, Eleni Marianou, said:
“It is very disappointing that the people of the UK have taken the historic decision to leave the European Union. It is a decision that undermines European integration and unity, but we must respect the fact that they have exercised their democratic right.
“Now the EU and all Regions across Europe must move forward together, in the interests of growth and prosperity, to find the answers to our common challenges.”