NICOLA Sturgeon insisted she received a “sympathetic response” from Brussels leaders when she told them she was determined to find a way for Scotland to stay in the EU despite the Brexit vote last week.

The First Minister’s visit to the Belgium capital coincided with thousands of anti-Brexit campaigners gathering outside Holyrood yesterday afternoon to make their voices heard. More than 200 people staged a pro-EU rally in Glasgow’s George Square.

Sturgeon held talks with European Parliament President Martin Schulz and senior MEPs before meeting European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

“I found doors to be open here today,” she said afterwards. “If there is a way for Scotland to stay, I am determined to try to find that way.”

Before the meeting, President Juncker said Scotland had “won a right to be heard” after the country voted to remain in the EU.

However, there was fierce opposition from the hardline Spanish Prime Minister – who is anxious to resist any independence push by Catalonia – to giving any special EU status to Scotland.

Mariano Rajoy told reporters at the European Council summit: “If the United Kingdom leaves, so does Scotland. Scotland has no competencies to negotiate with the EU. The Spanish Government rejects any negotiation with anyone other than the United Kingdom.”

That sentiment was echoed by the French President François Hollande, who said: “The negotiations will be conducted with the United Kingdom, not with a part of the United Kingdom.”

A total of 62 per cent of voters in Scotland supported staying in Europe in last week’s referendum and Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum is “highly likely” in the wake of the UK decision to leave. Juncker said he and European Council President Donald Tusk may not be able to negotiate a separate deal to stay in Europe, saying they would not interfere in internal British politics.

“I will listen carefully to what the First Minister will tell me, but we don’t have the intention – neither Donald nor myself – to interfere in the British process,” said the commission President. “That is not our duty and not our job.”

The developments led Alex Salmond to say that while Sturgeon’s meeting with Juncker signalled “a significant shift” in Scotland’s relationship with Europe, the only option if Scotland is to remain in the EU may be as an independent country.

Speaking on LBC Radio, the former first minister said: “The Juncker thing is very significant. I say this because I had the door shut on me by Barroso in 2013 and 2014, and the fact that Juncker is showing Nicola Sturgeon an open door – and that’s the phrase of his spokesperson – shows that we are now night and day from the position we were in 2013. Nicola Sturgeon is doing the right thing. She is scoping it out and saying, ‘what does it take to establish and maintain Scotland’s position in the EU that Scotland voted for?’ Now, if the end result of that is the only way that you can do it is by Scotland becoming es an independent country, that is when you are in the territory of a new independence referendum.”

After her series of meetings, Sturgeon told reporters: “I’ve found enormous interest in the referendum result, as you would expect, and I’ve also had a sympathetic response to the situation Scotland now finds itself in, facing the prospect of being taken out of the European Union against our will.”

She stressed she had not travelled to Brussels to “press for any decisions or for any commitments”, saying she had instead gone to “make sure Scotland’s voice is being heard and that Scotland’s position is understood”.

She added: “My concern at this stage is to ensure that once the UK’s negotiations with the EU start, then all of the options are on the table. I don’t underestimate the challenges of that, but I have been heartened today that I have found a willingness to listen.”