Diolch, Lywydd. Well, we’ve now published our detailed policy statement on the UK’s exit from the European Union. Our position has been drawn up jointly with Plaid Cymru, through our liaison arrangements, and, therefore, carries substantial support in this Assembly—and I hope that there is much in this document that will command the support of other Members too. The wider the consensus that can be established in this Assembly, the more powerful will be the message from Wales in protecting our interests.

Llywydd, the paper makes six main points. The first is that we should continue to have full and unfettered access to the single market. According to HM Revenue and Customs, two thirds of Welsh exports go to countries in the single market, so why on earth would we voluntarily surrender access to it? Currently, we have full integration between the UK and the single market. After we leave the European Union we should aim to retain that integration fully, or as much of it as we possibly can. There are different ways in which this could be done, but the essential point is clear: our businesses need continued participation in the single market so they can continue selling their products without competitive disadvantage in Europe.

We also believe that the UK should remain part of the customs union, at least for the time being. This enables free-trade arrangements with more than 50 other countries beyond the EU and there is no good reason to turn our backs on that. The possibility is mooted that the UK may, over time, form new trading relationships with other major economies such as the US, India and China. Such agreements might be worth having, but subject to detailed consent. We might welcome them, but the content of such agreements would be absolutely crucial. But at this point, we must be pragmatic about Wales’s interests. All the available evidence shows that developing new trade agreements is painstaking and requires long-term effort, certainly between five and 10 years. And that’s when things progress smoothly and new governments continue the same line as their predecessors, which is by no means a given. So, while we support the exploration of new trade opportunities for our businesses, we want to protect the markets we already have. If better opportunities arise in future, let’s look at them with an open mind, but we see no advantage now in dismantling clear current benefits in favour of a wing and a prayer.

We do accept that concerns about migration were part of what motivated some to vote ‘leave’, and this is our second point. I want to be very clear: EU citizens play a very positive role in Welsh life, and I want their status to be clarified urgently. In future, we will still need to recruit from Europe for jobs in shortage areas and this is the key point: migration from the EU must be domestically managed and linked explicitly to work. We need clearly enforced laws to ensure that migrant workers are not exploited or used by unscrupulous employers to drive down wages or to lower terms and conditions for workers. We believe this is the basis for a balanced approach that links migration to jobs and good properly enforced employment practice that protects all workers whatever their country of origin.

Thirdly, Wales receives some £680 million annually from EU funds. During the referendum, voters were assured by ‘leave’ campaigners that Wales would not be one penny worse off as a result of leaving the EU. This Government intends to hold the UK Government to account for that promise and I trust we’ll have the backing of the whole of this Chamber in that mission. The people who sent us here will expect no less.

We will, of course, be leaving the major EU programmes and responsibility for managing agriculture and the countryside, and for regional economic development, will fall to us here in Wales. It is vital that those responsibilities are properly resourced and we look to the Treasury to maintain our spending at current levels. There are some smaller EU programmes that contribute significantly to our well-being for which we may potentially remain eligible outside the EU. These include Horizon 2020, money to stimulate research and innovation and Erasmus, which enables student exchanges.

Wales shares a maritime border with Ireland and the ports of Holyhead, Fishguard and Pembroke Dock are crucial and at the front line of any changes. We are particularly keen that we remain eligible for the Wales-Ireland strand of the EU INTERREG funding source. The sums of money are quite small in relative terms, but the programme helps to create dynamic co-operation between the maritime border regions of Wales and Ireland. This co-operation will become more important, not less, in the future. We enjoy excellent relations with our Irish neighbour and we attach a high value to building on our mutual and neighbourly interests in the years ahead. As I and others have said many times: we are leaving the European Union, but we are not leaving Europe.

Our fourth point is on devolution and the future of the UK. Powers that have already been devolved to this Assembly and this Government must remain devolved. Let us not forget that our powers are also the result of two referendums of the Welsh people and we will oppose any attempt by the UK Government to grab such powers to itself. We recognise very readily that some areas of policy will require agreement across all four governments to ensure that, when we are outside the EU, we do nothing to inhibit the internal market or the single market of the UK—the free flow of trade within the UK. This will require mutual respect among the four governments and willingness to develop the machinery that will enable us to form such agreements, including independent arbitration. Leaving the EU provides an opportunity to renew and reinvigorate democratic practice in the UK and that opportunity must not be squandered on a leaden centralisation that will only serve to foster resentment and undermine the long-term strength of the union.

The decades of EU membership have produced a legacy of benefits covering many aspects of life, and this is our fifth point. Workers enjoy a range of employment protections and the quality of our environment has been greatly improved. As we leave the EU, we aim to protect these improvements to everyday life in Wales, and we will oppose vigorously any attempt to cut corners and create worse conditions. Our Wales is a country that values people and we want to enhance the quality of life for all our citizens.

The final point we make in our document is the need to negotiate a period of transition, so that current arrangements can apply for a period after the UK actually leaves the EU, presumably around the spring of 2019. It is not yet clear whether agreement on the UK’s forward relationship with the EU will be fixed according to the same timetable as agreement on our departure from the EU. But there are many variables here and we will have to see. But, in any case, businesses, public bodies, farmers, universities and many others will need time to assess new realities as they become clearer. For this reason, we believe a transition period is necessary, so that everyone has time to prepare for the new circumstances, and we believe this should be an early negotiating priority for the UK.

Llywydd, I believe that this White Paper represents a coherent and detailed position towards EU negotiation that protects Wales’s interests and provides a sound and plausible framework for the UK as a whole. I hope all Members will consider it in detail. It is my intention to schedule a debate in a couple of weeks’ time, which will provide an opportunity for us to demonstrate support for the Welsh national interest. We are leaving the EU—that debate is over—but I urge all Members to approach the terms of EU exit with Wales’s interests clearly in mind.

Finally, Llywydd, we have already heard from the Counsel General this afternoon in response to today’s Supreme Court judgement. It is right that the National Assembly should have an opportunity to debate the trigger legislation for article 50, and it is our intention to timetable such a debate in Government time at the appropriate time.