Scottish lawmakers have backed First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's bid for a new referendum on independence from the UK. The vote gives Sturgeon a mandate to seek permission from Westminster to go ahead with the vote.
Image: REUTERS/R. Cheyne
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Scotland's parliament on Tuesday backed First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's calls for another independence referendum by a majority of 69 to 59.
The vote allows Sturgeon to make a formal request to the British government to hold a referendum and comes a day before Prime Minister Theresa May formally launches Brexit proceedings.
Last year's Brexit vote in June resulted in a significant strain between the UK's constituencies, with England and Wales voting to leave the European Union and Scotland and Northern Ireland choosing to remain.
Sturgeon has said she wants to hold an independence plebiscite in late 2018 or early 2019, when the terms of the UK's divorce from the EU become clear.
However May's office has already indicated that it will reject the bid, saying it would be unfair to the people of Scotland to ask them to make a crucial decision without the necessary information about our future relationship with Europe, or what an independent Scotland would look like.
Westminster's interjection could fuel Scotland's independence movement. Sturgeon, meanwhile, has repeatedly said it would be anti-democratic for Westminster to stand in the way if Scotland's elected government chose to hold an independence vote.
Scotland voted against independence in 2014 by 55 to 45 percent. However, Sturgeon has argued that a material change in circumstances following the Brexit vote justifies a second vote.
'Scotland, UK at a crossroads'
Sturgeon told the Edinburgh assembly at the start of Tuesday's debate that "Scotland, like the rest of the UK, stands at a crossroads."
"When Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty is triggered tomorrow, change for our country becomes inevitable," she said. "There will be an impact on trade, on investment and on living standards, and an impact on the very nature of the society we live in."
Brexit: What lies ahead?
Britain has triggered EU Article 50, formally starting the process for the country to leave the 28-nation bloc. DW takes a look at some of the steps involved and the time required to strike an exit deal.
Image: Getty Images/J. Taylor
What is Article 50?
Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon gives any existing member of the European Union the right to quit unilaterally and outlines the procedure for doing so. It gives the state concerned two years to negotiate a deal for its exit. Once Article 50 is triggered, it cannot be stopped, except by the unanimous consent of all member states.
Image: Reuters/T. Melville
What does Article 50 actually say?
There are five elements in Article 50. They state that the exiting country must notify the European Council formally and that it is given a two-year period to reach an agreement. Article 50 also states that the country concerned cannot take part in EU’s internal discussions about its departure. The exit deal must be approved by a "qualified majority" and must also get the backing of MEPs.
Image: picture alliance/dpa
When will it be triggered?
The UK decided in favor of leaving the EU in a referendum in June 2016. After lengthy parliamentary debates and legal procedures, Prime Minister Theresa May looks all set to send a formal letter of notification to EU President Donald Tusk on March 29, which will trigger Article 50. Officials in Brussels have already outlined a divorce bill for Britain of between 55 and 60 billion euros.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
What happens after that?
The EU is expected to give a first response later this week. A summit of EU leaders on April 29 is then to lay down guidelines for the Brexit talks, which are expected to start in May or June. The hardest part of the negotiations will be determining the status of more than a million Britons living in other parts of the EU and of some 3 million EU citizens in Britain, and working out trade details.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/A. Vitvitsky/Sputnik
The Great Repeal Bill
By autumn this year, the UK government is expected to introduce legislation to leave the EU and put all existing EU laws into British law - the Great Repeal Bill. The possible move will annul the 1972 European Communities Act (ECA), which gives EU law instant effect in the UK, and give parliament the power to absorb parts of EU legislation into UK law, scrapping elements it does not want to keep.
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How long will the process last?
EU leaders have said they want to conclude the talks within 18 months to allow the terms of the exit to be ratified by UK and the European Parliaments as well as the EU states. If no agreement is reached in two years and no extension is agreed, the UK automatically leaves the EU and all existing agreements.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Rain
What if the UK changes its mind?
The fifth paragraph of Article 50 raises the possibility of a state wanting to rejoin the EU after having left it. This would be considered under Article 49.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS.com/J. Goodman
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The 2014 referendum was largely decided by the economic uncertainty of what an independent Scotland would look like. However, Sturgeon has claimed that breaking away from the European Single Market would cost Scotland tens of thousands of jobs.
Both Sturgeon and May saw the economic hands strengthened this week. Exploration firm Hurricane Energy announced on Monday that it had made the "largest undeveloped discovery" of oil in British waters, just off the Scottish Shetland Islands.
Meanwhile, Qatar announced that it was investing some £5 billion ($6.23 billion, 5.8 billion euros) into the UK economy over five years, easing fears that investors might ditch the UK once it leaves the European single market.
