Welsh politicians are demanding a substantive role in the government’s Brexit negotiations to ensure their devolved powers are not diminished in the rush to exit the European Union.
Plaid Cymru wants to be able to test the broad regulatory, legal and economic aspects of the Brexit package before the government triggers article 50 and believes it has a constitutional right to do so.
Steffan Lewis, a member of the Welsh assembly, has tabled the notion of Britain following the reverse path accession states such as Romania and Bulgaria were forced to travel before approval was granted to join the EU.
Wales’s devolved powers policy responsibilities in agriculture, economic development, environment and food standards.
If Wales wants to peg its food standards with the EU’s standards for instance, a broad UK-wide Brexit agreement may not be appropriate. Plaid Cymru says it will not be silenced just because it has not got the political heft in Westminster where Brexit decisions are being made.
“If we don’t have the first phase of a joint and mature of respectful process in terms of establishing a UK position then it becomes difficult for the government to involve the different governments in the UK in the actual negotiations themselves,” Lewis said.
Plaid Cymru says if it doesn’t get a mini “accession in reverse”, it will push for a European continuity bill to be published ahead of the great repeal bill promised by Theresa May to annul the 1972 European Communities Act.
“The danger with the UK bill is that they decide to enact a bill that relates directly to the European Communities Act that could directly impact on devolved matters,” said Lewis. Otherwise, he says, the UK could be in danger of breaking the Welsh administration’s constitutional rights.
Wales is the single biggest beneficiary of EU funding and its economy stands to be greatly damaged by the exit process.
“We’re adamant as a party that we won’t give the government of the UK a blank cheque when it comes to Brexit,” said Lewis.
His party fears that quitting the single market will destroy its ports, depopulate rural towns and villages and lead to further poverty in a part of the country which has already suffering wage stagnation.
“We are hugely exposed,” he said. “This is why in terms of the post-withdrawal context, why we need to ensure that the funding levels are maintained at least. We cannot pretend that the UK is an economically homogenous state.”
