New Brexit paper calls for all ofWales’ £370m EU funding to be met
THE UK Government should add the £370m Wales gets in EU aid each year to the National Assembly’s block grant and scrap plans to put it into a general pot after Brexit, Carwyn Jones has said.
Today the Welsh Government has published a new White Paper which insists that Wales should not lose out financially after we leave the EU.
Since 2000 West Wales and the Valleys – a region covering most of the country’s area – has received billions of pounds in EU aid because the wealth generated is less than 75% of the EU as a whole. In addition, the rest of Wales has also benefitted from EU aid, making the nation a net beneficiary of EU funds, unlike the UK as a whole.
According to Mr Jones, Brexit is an opportunity to boost economic development, reduce bureaucracy and support our poorest communities in the face of UK Government austerity – but, only if it is done properly,
Launching the Welsh Government’s latest Brexit paper – titled Regional Investment in Wales after Brexit – Mr Jones will warn against the UK Government using our exit from the EU as an opportunity to take money and funding decisions away from Wales.
The paper proposes a new, simplified and less bureaucratic way of supporting Welsh communities and driving economic development.
It calls for every penny of the £370m that Wales currently receives from the EU each year to be replaced by the UK Government and added to the Welsh Government’s annual budget.
The paper rejects the idea of a Westminster-controlled UK Prosperity Fund – which would see Wales competing for funds with other parts of the UK – and calls for regional investment decisions to continue to be made in Wales. The proposals include: Simplifying the rules, administration and systems for regional investment funds;
developing plans for the regions of Wales led by partnerships involving local authorities, businesses and communities in those areas;
regional investment focussed on places where it is needed and in line with the Welsh Government’s Economic Action Plan;
continuing the ability to provide state aid to businesses.
the four national governments of the UK agreeing rules on regional support to avoid a race-to-thebottom that could damage communities; and
creation of a Council of Economic Ministers from all four nations to ensure co-ordination of policy across the UK.
Mr Jones said: “The decades of Wales’ partnership with the EU leaves us a legacy upon which we can build our economic future.
“However, the vote to leave the EU was also a call for change and so we are proposing a way forward for regional investment based on local knowledge, which does away with unnecessary bureaucracy and focuses on the needs of businesses and communities.
“The people of Wales are best placed to make those decisions and to create a new system for the future.
“Any move to a system where unelected officials in Whitehall can veto much-needed investment in our local communities would be completely unacceptable and a betrayal of devolution.
“We will also not stand for any loss of funding as a result of Brexit. During the referendum campaign, we were promised Wales would not lose out on a penny if we left the EU. This promise must now be honoured or the people of Wales were misled.”
A UK Government spokeswoman said: “We have always said that we will negotiate our EU Exit for every nation and region of the United Kingdom. Our goal is to secure a deal that works for all parts of the country.”
A senior Westminster source said: “This is the first we have heard of this White Paper. The Welsh Government hasn’t shared it with us, which is perhaps surprising given that they are constantly telling us we need to engage with them. We, by contrast, share everything with them well in advance.”