4. Urgent Question: The European Economic Area Agreement

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:39 pm on 29 November 2016.

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Photo of Mick Antoniw Mick Antoniw Labour 2:39, 29 November 2016

Well, thank you for that urgent question. I can tell you that my assessment is, indeed, at a very preliminary stage. I think we were all made aware of this issue in an article that appeared over the weekend, which was the first announcement that there might be legal action. The British Influence think tank plan to write to the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, to ask him to clarify his position on UK membership of the European Economic Area after Brexit. This process may see proceedings being brought, but no court proceedings are currently live. So, it’s clear that any litigation is still some way off. The UK Government has been asked to clarify its position on withdrawal from the European Economic Area under article 127 of that agreement, and we look forward to hearing what they have to say about that.