Scotland and independence: Sturgeon wants new referendum on no-deal-Brexit

United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum

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Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced a new referendum on Scottish independence in the event of disorderly Brexit. "We should consider this in 2020," said Sturgeon in Berlin.

She advised the EU to agree to a renewed Brexit date should the United Kingdom so request. Prime Minister Boris Johnson desperately trying to make the EU the culprit for leaving the country without a contract, she explained her position. The EU should therefore do its utmost to avoid this blame.

Sturgeon defended the demand for a second referendum in Scotland. It would be democratic if, in a second referendum, the people could opt for another majority under changed circumstances, she said, referring to the first referendum in which a majority voted against leaving Scotland in the United Kingdom.

Meeting with Green Party boss Habeck

During her visit to Germany Sturgeon also met with the party leader of the Green Robert Habeck. "The environmental agenda of the Scottish government is far more ambitious than that of our federal government," said Habeck after the conversation in Berlin, which he described as "intense". "We also share a clear stance against a British EU exit and have reaffirmed our shared interest in keeping the UK in the European Union."

Sturgeon had been awarded the M100 Media Award the night before in Potsdam for her pro-European course.