Second UK-EU Summit: Scottish Government priorities

Our position 

This Scottish Government will always advocate for a closer and more constructive relationship between the UK and the EU. 

Scotland shares the EU’s founding principles and core values, based on human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, and human rights, as well as the EU’s commitment to pursuing prosperity through co-operation, sustainable development and international law. 

The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2026-31, published on 1 September 2026, reaffirms our commitment to being a good global neighbour and our belief that, in a rapidly changing world, returning to EU membership as quickly as possible is essential to Scotland’s prosperity and security, and should be a shared national priority. 

The Scottish Government welcomed the shift in tone and momentum represented by the first UK-EU Summit in 2025. Likewise, we welcome renewed statements of positive intent from the UK Government in recent months. In the House of Commons on 1 September 2026, the Prime Minister noted the “good steps” taken by Sir Keir Starmer on relations with the EU, which he said he would seek “to build on”. And on 29 September 2026, the Prime Minister said that "Brexit hasn't given us control" and that “Brexit has done more harm than good”. Likewise, the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations and European Relations indicated in August 2026 that he would be seeking “a deeper relationship, a more ambitious relationship with the EU” and that “this is a negotiation with our friends, with whom we share our values and with whom we feel solidarity.”

However, we also note clear indications that the UK Government remains committed during this parliament to the red lines that were established in its 2024 manifesto, ruling out rejoining the Single Market, a Customs Union, and freedom of movement.

The Scottish Government is clear that no agreement within these red lines can undo the substantial damage that Brexit has caused to Scotland, and continues to cause each day. Modelling estimates that Scotland's public revenues were around £3.3 billion lower in 2025 than they would have been had the UK remained in the EU – equivalent to roughly £9 million every day that could have supported our public services, businesses and communities.

In an uncertain world, it is more apparent than ever that leaving the EU has left us poorer, and less safe. Within the EU, we see small and medium-sized nations working together, collectively securing and exercising their independence, making them less vulnerable to pressure, coercion or transactional threats, wherever they may come from.

In 2016, people in Scotland voted decisively to remain in the EU. Public opinion has consistently been clear ever since: Brexit was a mistake. YouGov polling in June 2026 found that 75% of people in Scotland think the UK was wrong to leave the EU, and 77% of Scots see Brexit as a failure. The same polling found that 70% of people in Scotland support rejoining the EU, and just 20% oppose it. 

The Scottish Government’s position remains the same: Scotland’s interests are best served by rejoining the EU, as soon as possible, as an independent member state. Short of that, we support rebuilding a relationship with the EU that is as deeply integrated as possible, and we strongly oppose the UK Government’s self-defeating red lines.