Wales’ future relationship with Europe and the world
Wales’ future relationship with Europe and the world
Background
In
March 2018, the External Affairs and
Additional Legislation Committee
published its report on Wales’
future relationship with Europe.
This part one report focused on the view from Wales on the key elements that
should form part of a future relationship between Wales and the EU. The report
was debated in Plenary on 23 May 2018.
Part Two
At
its meeting
on 21 May 2018, the Committee agreed to undertake a Part Two inquiry focusing
on which networks, relationships and institutions should be prioritised, and
crucially how these relationships could be sustained in future.
The
terms of reference for the inquiry were to:
- assess the Welsh Government’s approach
to external affairs and identify best practice example from elsewhere in
the world;
- examine how the Welsh Government should
prioritise its future external relations with key European and/or international
institutions, regions and networks, including the support it provides to
trade associations and civil society;
- explore how third countries and sub
state nations and regions engage with the EU and EU institutions, and the
grounds for cooperation, in order to identify potential models that could
be adopted by Wales after Brexit; and
- explore the National Assembly for Wales’
own relationships with European networks and institutions and make
recommendations on how these could be taken forward after Brexit.
Evidence gathering
The
Committee held oral evidence sessions to inform its work on the following
dates:
At its meeting on 24
September 2018, the Committee agreed to incorporate the
Wales in the World inquiry
into this work. The final phase of the Wales in the World inquiry culminated in
a rapporteur
report (PDF, 165KB).
On Monday 22 October the Committee
visited London to meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss Wales’ future
relationship with Europe and the world. The Committee published its rapporteur
summary (PDF, 129KB) from the visit on 18
February 2019.
The
Committee published its report: Wales’ future relationship with Europe
and the World on Thursday 21 February 2019.
On publication of the report, David Rees
AM, Chair of the Committee said:
“With our imminent departure from the EU,
it is clear that Wales needs a new strategy for international engagement to
take account of the major changes that lie ahead. We welcome the appointment of
a Cabinet-level Minister with responsibilities for international relations,
however, we are clear that the Minister has considerable work to do in defining
a strategic approach to international engagement. This includes working out
what Welsh priorities are, and working with other ministerial portfolios such
as the economy, and education, to make it happen.”
Response
to the report
The Welsh Government responded
to the report on 24 April 2019. The report and response were debated in Plenary
on Wednesday 1 May 2019. Watch the debate on Senedd.tv.
Business type: Committee Inquiry
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Status: Complete
First published: 08/06/2018
Documents
- Welsh Government Response to Recommendations from the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee Report: Wales’ Future Relationship with Europe & the World - 24 April 2019
- Wales' future relationship with Europe and the world - 21 February 2019
- Rapporteur report – 18 February 2019 PDF 129 KB
- Wales' future relationship with Europe: Committee of the Regions Report - 23 January 2019 PDF 297 KB
- Correspondence from the Llywydd to the Chair regarding Wales' future relationship with the EU - 8 January 2019 PDF 126 KB
- Correspondence from the Chair to the First Minister regarding Hub Cymru Africa - 27 September 2018 PDF 159 KB
- Wales in the world: rapporteur summary - 24 September 2018 PDF 165 KB