I stand to move Plaid Cymru’s amendments. There is premature and then there is this debate. Look at the chaos engulfing British politics. The Prime Minister gone. What was his most likely successor gone. A leadership battle in the Labour Party. And yet, even as their own party leader resigns, for now, and leaves his mess for the rest of us to sort, we have the UK Independence Party somehow trying to argue that Brexit would be better for the steel industry without even contemplating a plan for that realisation.

As abstract arguments go, this would be entertaining if it wasn’t so serious. That is why, on amendment 1, we decided to replace the motion rather than rewording it, because its premise is absurd. While the value of iron and steel imports is greater than exports for the whole of the UK, for Wales it is considerably higher. Last year, we imported 400 million tonnes of iron and steel but exported one billion—two and a half times as much. Of that amount, some 69 per cent—over two thirds—goes to the European market. Frankly, it is impossible to argue that the steel industry will benefit from losing its ability to trade on the open market. The EU has made this clear; there are no special deals to be had. You’re either in or you’re out. [Interruption.] No, sorry. The size of the economy and reciprocal markets don’t enter into it. So far, it’s been fine for UKIP and other ‘leave’ supporters to argue that this is not true, but we should only give that some credence once a single one of the ‘leave’ campaign’s predictions proves to be true.

I’ll address amendments 4 and 5 together. Plaid Cymru’s provided two very clear ideas on what we could be doing here in Wales to support Tata in Port Talbot to become more competitive and sustainable. It can be done without breaching EU competition rules, in spite of what has been previously said. How do I know this? Because the European Commission staff—those faceless bureaucrats that you keep talking about—told me so when I bothered to go and visit them. Regardless of what some Members of this Chamber might think of them, the ones I’ve met I hold in the highest regard. They are better placed than anyone else, I think, to know what constitutes unacceptable state aid.

So, let’s park that argument and talk positively about what can be done. Well, the Welsh Government already makes use of the European fund for strategic investments. We had a statement from the former Minister for finance in the last Assembly updating us on its progress, and that of Horizon 2020. The EFSI, I was also told in Brussels, is well suited to funding Tata’s plans for a new power station. These proposals are fully realised and have the requisite permissions. The new plant would reuse gases that are a by-product of steel making. This environmental aspect, which would reduce the site’s emissions, is a significant factor in deciding whether such a project should receive money. It will also, crucially, reduce Tata’s energy costs.