Foreign affairs

Well, what did you think was happening? Was Whitehall likely to be bending over backwards to accommodate the Scottish Executive's views? You thought that Scottish Ministers were present at Council meetings on any terms other than suffrance? The BBC rehashes this morning's Herald story:

A leaked government report claims Scotland has been ignored by Whitehall officials in key European negotiations.
Michael Aron, director of the executive's EU office who drew up the report, believes the consequences for Scotland could be "disastrous".
The Scottish National Party has called for action over claims that Scotland was being "kept out of the loop".
However, First Minister Jack McConnell said the report was an early draft and does not reflect the true position.
Whitehall has been defensive over its European policy, the paper claims, with UK ministers demonstrating a "misunderstanding and ignorance" of the devolution settlement.
It was not uncommon, it said, for Whitehall departments to exclude the executive when forming policy, or to dismiss its views when formulating a UK line.
It also cites Council of Ministers meetings, where executive ministers have been forced to sit in a nearby listening room with officials, because not enough seats were available in the council room.

Brussels is where the big boys play. Nobody does you favours. If you get ignored, it's because you don't matter. If the Executive wants make an impact in Brussels, it needs to put in the effort. It can't just turn up and expect to be listened to. But the Executive's commitment to making an impact in Brussels is half-hearted at best.