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Scotland's First Minister joins a few minutes late.
"Sorry, I'm a little busy right now," the 50-year-old welcomes the small zoom group of European journalists.
Nicola Sturgeon has just asked the Scots in a televised address to spend the Christmas days strictly at home in a small group in view of the increasing number of corona infections.
She has been Scotland's Prime Minister and Chair of the Scottish National Party since 2014.
Polls predict that she will win an absolute majority in the next election in May 2021.
WORLD
: First Minister, you want another referendum on Scottish independence as soon as possible.
Is that the right time in the middle of the pandemic and shortly after Brexit?
Nicola Sturgeon:
When the corona pandemic broke out in the UK in March, I put the plans for a referendum on hold.
We have asked the UK government to do the same with Brexit and to extend the transition period.
But she refused.
All over the world, many countries are now wondering what the recovery from Covid should look like.
What kind of society they want to rebuild.
For me in Scotland the question of independence is one of them.
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WORLD
:
The decisive negotiations on Brexit will take place in these hours.
How much was Scotland involved?
Sturgeon:
Not at all.
We never sat at the negotiating table, which is very frustrating.
What is decided or not decided will affect us very much.
Especially considering the fact that Brexit happened against Scotland's will.
WORLD
:
Do you want a deal or do you prefer the no deal?
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Sturgeon:
A deal.
No deal would be even worse than Brexit already is.
But even if there is an agreement, it will be minimal.
At the end of the year we will see the consequences, and in the long run the economic damage.
WORLD
:
Boris Johnson recently stated that decentralization and the allocation of competencies to the regions were a disaster.
How do you like that?
Sturgeon:
That was a glimpse into his thinking.
And the reason why he shouldn't determine our fate.
He describes the fact that the
devolution
(English for decentralization, d. Red.) Gave the Scots a voice as a disaster.
For us, the opposite is the case, which is why more than half of Scots want independence, according to recent polls.
I am confident that the Scots will say yes in the next referendum.
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WORLD
:
Be it the number of Covid deaths, be it the number of drug addicts - Scotland often comes off badly above average.
You have autonomy in the health sector.
Isn't nationalism the solution, is it?
Sturgeon:
I don't accept that approach.
We are not perfect, we have a lot of work to do in many areas.
Child poverty is too high here, for example, because London has the say over the social system.
So independence is part of the answer.
My party is called the Scottish National Party.
But the term nationalism has all sorts of connotations that have nothing to do with my party and our independence movement.
WORLD
:
The public rating of your corona management is still far better than that of Premier Johnson.
Why?
Sturgeon:
I made mistakes in the pandemic.
Just like any head of government anywhere in the world.
It's an extremely difficult situation, none of us have ever faced such a challenge.
I tried to always be honest with people.
Not to talk around.
To learn from the mistakes.
WORLD
:
In the first referendum in September 2014, your party was defeated.
If you win the second time, will Scotland be isolated - outside of the UK and the EU?
Sturgeon:
No, because we will agree on transition times.
Many voices in the EU say that Scotland has been a member for more than 40 years and meets all standards and regulations.
We think that we are a unique case for quick accession to the EU.
WORLD
:
The enthusiasm in the EU for the admission of further states is not great ...
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Sturgeon:
Scotland's accession is not an enlargement.
We have been members for most of my life.
Scotland is coming home, this is not a new beginning.
We can act as a bridge between the UK and the EU, bringing people together.
WORLD
:
Prime Minister Johnson decides alone about holding a referendum - which he rejects.
How do you deal with it?
Sturgeon:
If the SNP wins the Scottish elections next May, it will also be with the promise that the Scots will be able to vote in a constitutional referendum on independence.
It has to be a legally legitimized referendum for Europe and the world to recognize the outcome.
So if we win the elections, anything else would be a hideous disregard for our democracy.
WORLD
:
Could this dispute end up in court?
Sturgeon:
It's not up to me or Boris Johnson to decide Scotland's future.
That is a decision of the Scots alone.
Like 2014. That is the precedent.
If London refuses to approve, we have to see whether the Scottish Parliament can pass the necessary legislation.
This question has not yet arisen in court, but I am not ruling it out.
We cannot allow the British government to block democracy.
Right now we're seeing what's happening on the other side of the Atlantic.
That politicians try their best to stand in the way of democracy.
But I am a big believer in democracy, I believe in its power.
WORLD
:
Great Britain became the first country in the world to approve a vaccine that has been tested to the highest standards.
The EU is still waiting for approval.
Who does the future belong to - the UK or the EU?
Sturgeon:
Hopefully both.
But if you ask who will pay the highest price for Brexit, it is the UK.
The latest comments from Brexit supporters that the EU exit was the reason for the faster approval of the Covid vaccine are sheer nonsense.
I am of course absolutely happy that we already have a vaccine and that approval went so quickly.
The British approval authority MHRA used the EU law that was still in force until the end of the year.
In my opinion, such comments make the difficulty in this country clear.
They represent the type of simplification and, in some cases, the open deception by those who pushed Brexit forward.