In 2012, Agnew responded to Labour Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Catherine Stihler's complaint, following Stihler's request to find out further details from the Scottish Ministers about whether they had sought legal advice over the position of an independent Scotland in the European Union.Decision 111/2012 - Catherine Stihler MEP and the Scottish Ministers Deputy First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon MSP told the Scottish Parliament chamber on Tuesday 23 October 2012 that the Scottish Government had only now sought legal advice on the position of an independent Scotland in the European Union. As a result of this row Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland, referred himself to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to determine whether he had broken the Ministerial Code. In January 2013 an independent adviser judged that neither Salmond nor the Scottish Government had breached the ministerial code.
