5. Pa drafodaethau y mae’r Cwnsler Cyffredinol wedi’u cynnal gyda swyddogion y gyfraith ynglŷn â sicrhau dinasyddiaeth Ewropeaidd i bobl yng Nghymru yn dilyn Brexit? OAQ51904

We value the freedoms and access that come with EU citizenship. Our future prosperity is intrinsically linked with our ability to secure full and unfettered single market access, including Welsh citizens’ ability to work in Europe. 

Thank you for that. Does the Counsel General agree with me that under international law it is questionable whether, in fact, European citizenship can be stripped from an individual without their explicit consent, regardless of the UK's exit from the European Union? And, following the successful passage of a Plaid Cymru motion in the House of Commons last week, the Westminster Government must now respond within 12 weeks to outline their position on the future of European citizenship, so what pressure is he putting on his counterparts in London to make sure the option of continued European citizenship remains on the table?

I think he's partly referring to the report commissioned by Jill Evans in this area, which I've had the opportunity of reading part of and there are many creative arguments in there for the continuation of European citizenship. When I was a member of the Brexit committee, the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee, we visited the European Parliament and met with Guy Verhofstadt there who has a very clear view on this area. Members may know that this morning, a matter of hours ago, the European Parliament passed a resolution at 544 votes in favour, 110 against, which supported the position in relation to ensuring that UK and EU citizens' rights should not be adversely affected by Brexit, which is a key issue for the Parliament's consent in due course. So, that has reinforced the argument about not damaging the rights of Welsh, UK or EU citizens in this regard.

I think it's an area where there's obviously disagreement between the UK Government and the EU 27. It's one where I think we need some creativity to resolve that issue. The Welsh Government's position, which it advocates for strongly with the UK Government, is to ensure that the rights of Welsh citizens as part of the UK are protected with regard to this. And that's consistent with having a migration system that is managed but flexible and gets us as close as possible to continued access—full and unfettered access—to the single market. It's really important though that the position's clarified as quickly as possible in the interests of Welsh citizens and in the interests of the rest of the EU, because these are not just academic discussions, these are not just legalistic discussions, these are the lives of individuals and decisions they're having to make every day in relation to their future residence. 

I've raised related questions on previous occasions with the previous Counsel General about the impact of the Vienna convention, I think, of 1969 on vested treaty rights. But would the Counsel General agree with me that one of the problems, which the EU has at the moment, which is causing electorates all over the continent to become more and more restive is the indiscriminate granting of EU citizenship? Italy alone, this year, granted 850,000 people citizenship, largely because, as a result of Schengen, that gets them out of Italy and into other countries, and that, therefore, firm control over migration is just as important for the rest of the European Union as it is indeed for the United Kingdom. 

The Member's position on this is very clear and he repeats it at every possible opportunity. We have a fundamentally different view of what the nature is of being a citizen living in the EU in the twenty-first century. In common I think with most Members of this Chamber, I regard it as important that Welsh citizens, UK citizens, are able to move freely and are able to settle freely as far as possible in the future across the rest of the EU, and that, equally, Wales remains open and welcoming to citizens from other countries who make a significant contribution to our economy and our culture. And that remains my position and the position of Welsh Government.