MUCH of the debate over our future with Europe is currently focussed on the minutiae of the Brexit negotiations in Brussels.

These negotiations will, of course, be vital in deciding the framework of our future relationship with the EU.

But my vision of our future with Europe does not hang solely on the outcomes of those talks.

Rather it is about how all of us across Europe continue, after Brexit, to promote the European values we all share: around democracy, freedom and the rule of law.

As we leave the European Union, there is of course a danger that the UK is seen to be turning inwards, away from that shared history.

Across the world, we are not short of populist nationalist leaders right now telling anxious voters that the solution to the world’s problems is to pull up the shutters, close the curtains and withdraw from the challenges of the world around us.

Promising a safer homeland – but a darker one too.

It will be vital, as we go through the process of leaving the EU, that we are not seduced by that agenda.

So we need to show that we intend to redouble our efforts to promote a truly internationalist vision for our country.

Certainly, my hope is that we choose the path of openness and engagement.

What does that mean in practice?

It begins by reassuring people from across Europe who have made Britain their home that they aren’t just needed here – they’re welcome too.

That’s why I hope that a deal to give certainty to EU migrants already living here - and reciprocal reassurances for Brits living abroad - are sorted in short order.

It also means paying more care and attention to our old friendships with European nations.

We should recognise that our decision to leave the EU has caused dismay among many.

EU diplomats I have spoken to over the last year feel saddened that Britain is leaving an institution they see as a key protector of peace across the continent.

So we need to up our game in ensuring that Britain intends to remain a key partner to our friends and allies across the continent.

So we should maintain cultural links – by, for example, retaining schemes such as Erasmus which promote exchanges between students from across the continent.

We should strengthen our security and intelligence links with our European allies, to show we want to support stability across the continent.

And we should, as a priority, maintain the free trade of goods and services across the continent – in the knowledge that it is commerce and trade which does more to promote peace and prosperity than anything else.

The trading relationship I want is the deal that is shared by the UK Government as a whole.

It is one that puts jobs and prosperity first, that reassures employers they will still be able to access the talent they need - no matter where they come from – and that maintains open trade in goods and services.

And it’s one that gives us the freedom to do our own thing where appropriate – for example, with our fishing industry in the north-east of Scotland, for whom Brexit offers a huge opportunity.

Finally, I would urge people to remember that our new relationship in Europe will not be set in stone on March 29th 2019, when we leave the institution of the European Union.

It is not like a divorce where we part company, never to meet again.

Instead, our new relationship will continue to evolve over time.

The comparison is with our own devolved arrangements here in Scotland.

As Donald Dewar said, devolution to Scotland was “a process not an event”. He has been proven right - 18 years on from the creation of the Scottish parliament, we are now adopting new tax and welfare powers that were never conceived when Holyrood was first mooted.

I believe the same will be true of Brexit.

Of course, there will be a day when we leave the European Union. But that is solely the event.

There will also be the process of constructing our new relationship which will be conducted over many years and will continue to change and evolve over time.

None of us know how that will turn out – but we can be sure that it will always be underpinned by our shared values.

To sum up, Brexit will undoubtedly present us with challenges over the coming years. But those challenges can be met and, as Scotland's fishermen will tell you, there are opportunities, too.

I did not vote for it – but now that it is happening, I want us to show our neighbours around Europe, and the world, that Britain intends to stand up for the beliefs and values this country has always embodied.

We may be leaving the EU – but we are not leaving Europe. A year on, Leavers and Remainers can all agree on that.