Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra has vowed his party will strive to see the UK rejoin the EU, urging "solidarity, not separation".
Giving his first major speech since becoming party leader at the University of Edinburgh, Marra said Scotland should "lead" in bringing the change about.
He admitted rejoining the bloc "won't be easy", but insisted it should be a "long-term objective" for the country.
It comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pushed for closer ties with Europe, although has ruled out actually rejoining the EU during this parliament.
Marra, the BBC reports, said: "The UK should re-join the European Union and Scottish Labour will work to make that happen.
"I don't pretend it will happen quickly. But I believe we should set it as a long-term objective for the UK and that Scotland should lead the change in making that happen."
Drawing a line between his comments and the position of the UK government, Marra went on: "Re-joining the EU is not the current policy of the UK Labour Party and not the current policy of the UK government.
"The UK Labour Party isn't there yet. This is a distinct Scottish Labour position."