Carwyn working closely with Brexit Secretary David Davis
FIRST Minister Carwyn Jones says his Government has been working closely with UK Brexit Secretary David Davis in a bid to secure the best terms for Wales after the UK leaves the EU, it has emerged.
Speaking to the National Assembly’s External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee, Mr Jones said the Welsh Government had sought to influence the UK Government, to strengthen the hand of those who are “pragmatic” about Brexit.
He said: “There are others who are unrealistic about what Brexit might mean for the UK. It is important, I believe, for Wales to make sure that those people who are the pragmatists, who see the value of putting jobs first, receive support from ourselves as a Welsh Government in order to strengthen their hand in Whitehall.”
Mr Jones said regular meetings and phone calls had taken place between himself and Finance Minister Mark Drakeford and Mr Davis.
Afterwards a Welsh Government source confirmed that Mr Davis was seen as a pragmatist, in contrast to Theresa May and some other Ministers.
Mr Jones stressed his commitment to keeping Wales and the UK in the European Single Market, saying that if the UK was outside it, it would want to join it.
Responding to Labour AM Baroness Eluned Morgan, who asked his views on Brexit Bills announced in the Queen’s Speech, Mr Jones said: “I don’t believe that we should leave the Single Market or the Customs Union, and my position is quite clear, that I think it is a mistake to support legislation that undermines those two ideas. There are others who hold different views in my party. I disagree with them. I know the Single Market is hugely important for Wales. I know that being in the Customs Union is hugely important.
“I don’t for one moment believe that in March 2019 the UK will have a deal with the EU. I’ve spoken to people who have been involved in trade negotiations, and they tell me it takes roughly 18 months to decide what you’re going to talk about.
“It’s fanciful to expect you can obtain a deal when frankly the proper discussions will only start after the German elections [in September]. Then, of course, there’s a ratification process in 27 nations, the European Parliament, in Belgium two Parliaments – that takes months. It suggests there would have to be a comprehensive deal before September next year – that’s impossible, which is why the transitional arrangements become hugely important.
“I don’t believe we are anywhere close to having trade deals with any other country, and indeed with some countries it would be a mistake to have a free trade deal with them.
“Free trade deals are not the answer as far as the future of the UK is concerned, if we are going to ignore the huge market on our own doorstep. The US is no substitute for the EU. It’s a smaller market and it’s further away, so it could never be a substitute for the market we currently enjoy, and the fact that 67% of our exports go into that market.
“If we were looking at this from the other direction, we would no doubt be desperate to join that market and have access to that market, rather than apparently as far as the UK Government is concerned seem willing to leave it.”
Mr Jones said the discussion cannot just be between political parties in Westminster but between parties across the whole of the UK.
He said: “We’ve put forward proposals from Wales. The Scots will have their own perspective. It seems those views are not as important. Well Brexit carries with it the seed of division within the UK, unless steps are taken to ensure the UK’s unity is robust. You do that by changing the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) into a proper Council of Ministers; you have rules that govern the UK’s Single Market; you have an independent adjudicator that polices those rules. This is not understood in Westminster. The discussion can’t just be between political parties in Westminster – it has to be wider than that across the whole UK.”
Calling for an early meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee to discuss Brexit, Mr Jones said: “The UK’s position seems unclear. It was clear before the general election – now it’s far less clear. We have been asking constantly for JMCs. They’ve been refused, so there have been no JMCs.
“There have been conversations bilaterally, but I think it’s absolutely crucial now that we have a JMC soon in order to understand what common ground there is.”