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The Scottish First Minister was today faced with a new obstacle after her former ally and mentor, Mr Salmond, launched his own pro-independence party. It comes after the pair's bitter legal dispute appeared to come to an end as Ms Sturgeon was cleared of misleading the Scottish Parliament by an independent inquiry this week. She plans to use May's Holyrood election as a mandate to hold a second independence referendum - but only if her Scottish National Party (SNP) secures a majority. Mr Salmond has said he hopes to achieve a "supermajority" for independence in the ballot with the Alba Party, which plans to field at least four candidates in each regional list The First Minister has hinted that should the country become independent, she will take it back into the EU. The idea has overwhelming support since Scotland voted 62 percent to remain in the bloc. Yet, instances of Ms Sturgeon's lack of leverage with EU top brass could hinder her future efforts. In 2016, The Daily Telegraph's Scotland politics editor, Simon Johnson, recalled how the First Minister visited Brussels just days before the Brexit referendum. Despite meeting with former President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, EU member states and the former President of the EU Council Donald Tusk refused to enter talks with her. The German Government told the Glasgow Herald that this was an "internal" British issue, and declined to comment further when asked if it would engage directly with the Scottish Government. Denmark said its minister for foreign affairs "will not intervene in the internal UK discussions following the referendum last week". The Czech Government said it was "premature to address the question of an independent Scotland and its relation to the EU”. While the Estonian Foreign Affairs Ministry did not wish to engage in "speculation" but its Slovakian counterpart opened the door to bilateral talks, saying it appreciated Scotland's pro-EU attitude. The breakdown in talks marked a blitz in her presence on the European stage, as the refusal by Mr Tusk and member states to stage bilateral talks killed-off any suggestion that Scotland might accede to the bloc in a special deal. Even now, many question whether an independent Scotland would be for EU membership. Robert Tombs, the renowned British historian, told Express.co.uk that Brussels would not readily accept a newly independent Scotland as it would be "too much trouble". He said: "It would cost the EU money, the Scots would expect to be subsidised by the EU, and the bloc is getting more and more reluctant to do that. "Countries like Spain would oppose the idea too, because it would be an encouragement to the Catalans again. "I would also guess that the EU would hesitate to do something which would seem really to be a seriously unfriendly act towards a major state like Britain, to actually encourage the breakup of another state. "Countries in other parts of the world go to war over things like that. "We wouldn't, of course, but you would be risking a real crisis of relations if the EU was seen to be trying to encourage the breakup of the UK." In response to Mr Salmond's new party launch, an SNP spokesperson said: “This is perhaps the most predictable development in Scottish politics for quite some time. "At this time of crisis, the interests of the country must come first and should not be obscured by the self-interest of someone who shows no sign whatsoever of reflecting on serious concerns about his own conduct concerns which, to put it mildly, raise real questions about the appropriateness of a return to public office. "The SNP has led the country through the last twelve months of the Covid pandemic, and at this election we offer the experienced, responsible and forward-looking leadership that the country needs. "Our plans to get Scotland through and out of the Covid crisis, and support recovery with fairness and equality at its heart, with the opportunity to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands, with the focus on our election campaign. "The only way to secure strong leadership, a referendum on independence, and a positive future for the country is to cast both votes for the SNP on May 6."