NICOLA Sturgeon has been chosen to be a patron of a prestigious city council prize in Germany for being a committed “advocate of European values”.
The First Minister has been selected to be the sponsor of the Constance Council Prize, which takes place in December, according to a report on the council’s website.
Her role as “godmother” involves appointing this year’s winner of the prize, which is awarded by the city to honour people, institutions or initiatives for their work on promoting Europe and contributing to discussions about its future.
Sturgeon will be present at the public award ceremony taking place on Friday, December 10 in a hotel on the shores of Lake Constance, according to the city council’s website. The organisers of the award said the First Minister had been chosen because she is a “staunch European” and an “advocate of European values”.
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The award is given every two years, with a prominent “godparent” who is in the European public eye naming the winner of the €10,000 prize.
The last sponsor was Herman Van Rompuy, who served at Prime Minister of Belgium and was formerly the President of the European Council.
The winner of the award in 2019 was Belgian writer Mohamed El Bachiri, who lost his wife in the Brussels bomb attacks in 2016 and went on to make an appeal for peace and write a book in memory of her.
During the award ceremony, the winner is also presented with a sash which is woven from five ribbons to symbolise the diversity of Europe. Each sash also includes the names of the sponsor and the award winner.
Earlier this month the European Union’s Ambassador to the UK thanked Sturgeon for supporting EU citizens who are living in Scotland.
Joao Vale de Almeida made the comments at the end of a two-day visit to Scotland.
He said: “I thank the Scottish Government for all of the support in reaching out to our EU citizens in Scotland during the last year or so.”
He said some six million EU citizens living in the UK were given settled status following Brexit. “I thank the First Minister and of course I very much welcome continued support to our citizens as they contribute to Scotland’s economy,” he added.
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Sturgeon issued open letters to EU citizens living in Scotland aimed at reassuring them over Brexit, including in 2019 when she made an emotional plea for EU citizens to stay in Scotland, despite the chaos over leaving the EU.
She wrote: “The closer we move towards the UK’s exit from the European Union, the more real and substantial reassurances about your rights and position in this country you need. As the First Minister of Scotland I want to thank you for the contribution you make to Scotland.
“I am proud to say this is your home, you are welcome here and we want you to stay.”
She repeated the message in a letter issued in December 2020 encouraging EU citizens to apply to the UK Government’s settlement scheme, which stated: “I believe that EU citizens in Scotland should not need to apply to protect the rights you already have to live, work and study here.”
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