Nicola Sturgeon travels to Brussels for crunch EU talks – but council chief Donald Tusk refuses to meet her
Scotland's First Minister was told now is not the right time to meet to talk about her country's place in the European Union
NICOLA Sturgeon has warned keeping Scotland in the EU will be “a difficult and challenging process” -with one of Brussels’s top officials refusing to meet her.
The First Minister met with the European Parliament president Martin Schulz this morning and will meet the Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker later.
It is all part of her plan to protect Scotland’s place in the EU following the referendum result that showed no part of the country backed Leave.
But she was also hoping to meet the European Council president Donald Tusk and even before she had arrived he said he had no time to meet her.
A spokesman for Mr Tusk said: “This is not the right, appropriate moment to meet.'
Speaking after her meeting with Mr Schulz she said: “It is for me to set out Scotland's position and Scotland's desire to remain in the European Union and to protect our relationship with the European Union.
“It was very much an introductory meeting and I was very grateful for the president's time this morning.”
She said her meetings were aimed at “making people understand that Scotland, unlike other parts of the United Kingdom, doesn't want to leave the European Union.
"We are at a very early stage of this process.
“I've set out very clearly Scotland's desire to protect our relationship with the European Union but I don't underestimate the challenges that lie ahead for us in seeking to find a path."
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The snub by Mr Tusk is a setback for Scotland’s First Minister because the European Council is made up of the heads of the member states which will have to unanimously agree a deal for Scotland.
reports several of them, notably Spain, would oppose Scotland joining the EU for fear it could stoke up separatism.
Her meetings in Brussels come after members of the Scottish Parliament voted to give her a mandate to hold discussions with EU institutions, the UK Government and other devolved nations.
Ms Sturgeon has said that "everything must be on the table to protect Scotland's place in Europe" after the UK voted to leave the EU, while the majority of Scots voted to stay.
Speaking ahead of the Brussels visit, she said: "My objective at this very early stage is firstly to raise awareness of the fact that Scotland voted differently in this referendum to the UK as a whole and that there is an aspiration and desire in Scotland, cross-party, to protect Scotland's relationship with the European Union and our place in the European Union.
"And secondly, to begin the process of mapping out and exploring what the options for Scotland might be.
"I'm very aware that this is a long process ahead of us, it's likely to be a difficult and challenging process, but I'm determined that we take every possible step to protect Scotland's interests at every stage of it."
The First Minister's diplomatic mission comes as the European Council summit, chaired by Mr Tusk, continues.
The heads of state or government are meeting informally to discuss the political and practical implications of the referendum results after David Cameron outlined the UK's position yesterday.