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Nationalist leaders from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland move forward with a joint agreement in Cardiff
John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Michelle O'Neill will meet this Monday to sign a memorandum between their parties and demand more powers and the right to decide the future of their territories.
The leaders of the main nationalist parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will hold a summit in Cardiff this Monday to coordinate a common position on the future of the United Kingdom. According to El Mundo, John Swinney, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Michelle O’Neill will take part in the meeting as heads of their parties, and not in formal representation of their regional governments.
The meeting will produce a memorandum of understanding between the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Féin, with the aim of strengthening their cooperation and asking the British government for the possibility of holding independence referendums, in addition to demanding an expansion of powers. ABC España added that the agreement will include areas such as the economy, energy, Europe, international cooperation and self-determination.
Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn Féin in Ireland, is also expected to attend, according to both outlets.
Ahead of the meeting, Swinney said that the coincidence of governments led by pro-independence figures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland shows that the current situation “is not sustainable.” Both El Mundo and ABC España also reported his message to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, whom he placed before a possible scenario of the end of the current United Kingdom.
The meeting comes amid a new dispute over the possibility of another referendum in Scotland. El Mundo noted that Burnham said in the House of Commons that that option remains off the table, although he left open the possibility of revisiting that stance if there were majority support among the Scottish population. ABC España, however, reported that the prime minister later clarified in writing that a new referendum remains out of bounds before the next general election.
Regarding Northern Ireland, ABC España recalled that the Good Friday Agreement provides for a mechanism for a possible vote on Irish reunification, a point Sinn Féin is seeking to bring back to the forefront. In the case of Wales, that outlet indicated that the summit agenda will also include demands for fairer funding and greater self-government tools.
According to El Mundo, the meeting also comes shortly after Donald Trump said during a visit to Dublin that he would like to see a united Ireland, comments that drew criticism in the United Kingdom.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
