Scotland could retain access to the European single market by initially joining the parallel trade association that includes Norway and Iceland, according to former Scottish leader Alex Salmond.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Salmond said European countries would be receptive to an independent Scotland should the country split from the U.K. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday announced plans for a referendum by spring 2019 in an effort to stop the nation being pulled out of the European Union because of Brexit.

“Scotland has many, many friends in Europe,” said Salmond, who led the failed independence campaign in 2014 and is now the Scottish National Party’s spokesman on foreign affairs. “More than the U.K. at the moment.”

Bloomberg

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