The Saltire among the EU flags outside Leeuwarden station. Photo: Jan Ligthart |
The Frisian capital Leeuwarden has replaced the Union Jack with a Scottish saltire in its parade of European flags as a gesture of solidarity after Brexit.
Alderman for culture Sjoerd Feitsma told the Friesch Dagblad he came up with the idea after visiting the Robert Burns festival in Edinburgh at the end of January.
‘I was thinking of replacing the Union Jack with an EU flag or a rainbow flag,’ he said. ‘I noticed what a big deal it was for the Scots that they’re no longer in the EU and that they are still flying the European flag in the Scottish Parliament. That’s when I thought: we could do something with this too.’
The Scottish Parliament voted on Friday not to take down the EU flag on Friday evening when the UK formally left the European Union. EU rules and regulations will continue to apply until the end of the year while negotiations on the future relationship take place.
European officials including former European Commission president Donald Tusk have said they are open to the idea of Scotland joining the EU if it becomes an independent nation. In the 2016 Brexit referendum, 62% of those who voted in Scotland opted to remain in the EU.
Leeuwarden has a number of cultural ties with Edinburgh through the Eurocities network and the fact that both cities have City of Literature status.
Feitsma said the flag would fly alongside the 27 EU flags outside the city’s main station for an indefinite period of time. ‘This isn’t an official area so we can decide for ourselves which flags we hang here.’
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