THE EU's top diplomat to the UK has revealed he is to visit Scotland "very soon" as he underlined the "enormous respect" in Europe for Scots.

Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, the head of the EU's delegation in London, outlined his plan for the imminent trip as he signalled he is keeping a close watch on events in Scottish politics.

He was asked by The National at an online press conference hosted in Portugal for his views on whether he believed Scotland could rejoin the EU.

“Let me say the following. First of all we have enormous respect, appreciation and friendship with all our friends in Scotland, those who support the European Union and are committed to European affairs at all levels from business to universities to think tanks," said the Portuguese diplomat.

“Part of my role and a real pleasure is to keep very close contact with all our friends in Scotland. And I hope to physically visit Scotland very soon. I have been in a virtual visit but not a physical one yet,”

He added that diplomatic protocol prevented him from commenting on "hypothetical scenarios" indicating the scenario outlined was hypothetical.

João Vale de Almeida became the EU’s ambassador to London last year following the UK departure from the EU, converting the commission’s representative office into an embassy.

However, a prolonged row soon erupted between London and Brussels over Britain’s reluctance to grant the EU's ambassador full diplomatic status with Boris Johnson's government withholding the full diplomatic privileges afforded under the Vienna Convention on the grounds that the EU is not a sovereign state.

The UK’s decision to not grant diplomatic status to Almeida riled EU officials, with Brussels in turn freezing out Britain’s ambassador Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby from official communications.

Foreign Office sources told The Times that the row had created an “unhealthy, chilling effect” between officials and that the UK was set to back down on its previous stance.

“It is a silly dispute but has had a corrosive effect,” they said.

There was speculation last week that the controversy had been resolved with Almeida given full diplomatic status.

However, the ambassador's office today told The National that he had not been given full diplomatic status yet.

The press conference on Thursday also heard from Christophe Hansen, a senior MEP, whose European People's Party (EPP) is the largest party in the European Parliament.

Hansen, who was asked the same question, responded: “If you would ask me personally I would love that Scotland could join the European Union again. I think Scotland could easily fulfil the criteria for joining the European Union.”

He went on to say that he recognised an “independence referendum” would “probably be necessary” and that “a lot of pre work” needed to be done.

The comments mark a significant change of tone from EU figures since ahead of the 2014 referendum when the European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said it would be “extremely difficult, if not impossible” for an independent Scotland to join the EU.

The press conference, attended mostly by journalists from Portugal, took place the day after the European Parliament voted by a large margin to give the EU’s final approval to the Brexit deal. Some 660 MEPs voted in favor, with five against and 32 abstentions.

During the debate MEPs expressed considerable concerns about the trustworthiness of the current UK government to carry out its side of the Brexit bargain, including the trade deal that was just approved.

The agreement, which governs trade and customs issues and provides for zero tariffs and zero quotas, has been applied conditionally since the beginning of the year. It leaves out key issues such as financial services and foreign and security policy.

Debates and consultations over how best to implement the trade deal and the general withdrawal agreement are continuing.

As revealed by The National on Thursday, around 200 prominent cultural figures across the continent called on EU leaders to welcome Scotland back into the EU and to say they will do so before a future independence referendum.

Last month a leading official signalled Brussels would look favourably on an independent Scotland joining the bloc.

Michael Mann, the EU’s envoy to the Arctic, also said the new state could benefit from a speedier membership process than other countries, such as former communist states.

Scotland voted by 62% to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum but was forced to leave at the end of last year as the UK as a whole voted to exit.