Dirprwy Lywydd, Wales has always been an outward-looking, internationally engaged nation. It is fair to say that some had feared that the decision to leave the European Union was a rejection of this proud tradition. However, as this report highlights, these fears were unfounded. We are clear that whilst Wales is leaving the EU, it is not leaving Europe.

Dirprwy Lywydd, whatever the eventual outcome of the negotiations between the UK and the EU may be, the last 45 years of co-operation and integration is an exemplar of how, working together, we can benefit from a strong partnership. Our report looks at Wales’s future relationship with Europe and reaffirms the view that Brexit should be seen as a realignment of old relationships together with the beginning of new ones.

Turning now to the report itself, Members will see that it is an extensive and authoritative contribution to the debate on what this nation's future relationship with Europe should look like. I know that many of my colleagues on the committee will have particular themes and issues that they will wish to pursue in their contributions. I therefore intend to keep my remarks to some of the broader themes within the report.

We make a total of 18 recommendations to the Welsh Government about where it should focus its influence when it comes to shaping the UK’s negotiating position, and Wales's future relationship with the EU after Brexit. I am grateful to the Welsh Government for accepting all 18 recommendations—12 directly accepted and six in principle—and I look forward to hearing the contribution from the Cabinet Secretary this afternoon when he rises to speak.

Our first set of views and recommendations look at access to the single market and arrangements for the UK’s future customs arrangements. Irrespective of events in the Houses of Parliament or the UK Government on these matters, our report is based upon the evidence we received and the views of Welsh stakeholders. There was a clear sense from the evidence that the most important aspect of the relationship between Wales and the EU concerns trade. It is therefore vital that the future relationship provides frictionless—yes, frictionless—trade, free from tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Furthermore, we note in our report that the evidence overwhelmingly prioritises the maintenance of equivalent regulatory standards over regulatory divergence from Europe after Brexit. In particular we heard specific concerns from the farming, fisheries and food sectors in relation to our future trading relationships. The challenges posed to those sectors by the imposition of new non-tariff barriers after Brexit, such as plant and animal health checks, could jeopardise the export of Welsh lamb, beef, shellfish—something that I am certain nobody here wishes to see.

Turning to customs, we note in our report that a new customs arrangement with the EU, which broadly mirrors the current arrangements, could help to reduce the risks of customs delays at our borders and ports. As time passes, and the need for urgency becomes all the more acute, it is imperative that the UK Government brings forward credible proposals on the UK’s future customs arrangements with the EU. It is vital that this issue is resolved in a way that gives certainty to businesses on both sides of the Irish sea and both sides of the English channel. Unfortunately, we are still seeing a Government in Westminster that cannot agree on a way forward on this matter and it is only creating more concern amongst Welsh stakeholders with regard to the nature of our future relationship with the EU.

Our report also covers immigration and the issue of free movement of people. We recognise in our report that this was an important issue for many during the referendum campaign. But we also identified the role that EU citizens play in delivering our public services and working in our private businesses. We welcome the importance pleased on securing an early agreement on the future of citizens' rights by the Brexit taskforce, the European Parliament and the UK negotiating team, and welcome the phase 1 agreement in that regard.

Looking ahead, we want to see clarity from the UK Government on the timescales for moving to a future immigration system at the earliest opportunity. I personally hope that we don't see this delayed beyond a time when the decisions are made on a final deal reached between the UK and the EU. 

Dirprwy Lywydd, as I say in the foreword to the report, the last 45 years of co-operation and integration cannot be lightly discarded. And a key theme to our inquiry was the need to ensure continued co-operation and involvement in certain EU agencies and programmes after Brexit. We consider it important that the Welsh Government maps out which European agencies it has identified as important in terms of continued involvement after Brexit, and I look forward to hearing from the Cabinet Secretary when we may get that detail of that mapping exercise. We have also identified some agencies ourselves, particularly the European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, which the Welsh Government did respond to in its response to the report. To that end, it is critically important that the UK Government seeks clarity now on whether the EU is prepared to offer associate membership of these bodies to the UK, or a type of relationship that can exist afterwards.

We also note the important and valuable role that co-operation in the fields of education has played, most notably through the Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ programme. We believe that it would be mutually beneficial for Wales and the EU to continue to collaborate in these areas post Brexit. Moreover, we welcome the references made to potential co-operation in the areas of research and innovation by the UK Government, the European Parliament and European Council—all are saying that this should be prioritised in the negotiations.

The final theme of the report looked at Wales's future relationship with both formal and informal networks after the UK leaves the EU. Many of our stakeholders raised the importance of continued participation in these networks after Brexit. In evidence, they highlighted to us the unique and valuable role in terms of policy learning and collaboration that involvement in European networks can have across all those sectors. As a committee, we are proud of the positive impact, in both directions, that such engagement has had in the past and we hope to see these links grow from strength to strength in the future.

However, we also recognise that as a consequence of Brexit, Wales may have a diminished role in many of these networks in the future. This is not something we want to see and we hope that both the Welsh and UK Governments, and wider civil society, will take steps to mitigate the risks of this diminution where possible in the future. In our report, we heard about the important role assigned in the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions Cardiff declaration to the development of relationships not only through networks but directly with individual nations, regions and cities in Europe. We fully acknowledge the important role these relationships will play in future and hope to explore the issue further as we go into part two of our work.

When looking to the future, we cannot ignore Wales's relationship with our nearest EU neighbour, Ireland. Having considered the impact of Brexit on trade between Wales and Ireland during our report on ports, we also recognised the importance of this relationship with a call, in this report, for the Welsh Government to ensure it continues to strengthen and grow that relationship after Brexit.

It's also important to us as a committee that equalities and human rights are safeguarded in any future relationship. To that end, we call upon the Welsh and UK Governments to ensure this as we leave the EU. I am pleased to note the House of Lords agreed an amendment to the EU withdrawal Bill that sought to enshrine the European charter of fundamental rights in UK laws. I hope the House of Commons accepts that amendment.

Finally, Dirprwy Lywydd, we have one overarching message to our friends and partners across Europe: Wales has a proud tradition as a nation that looks outwards to the world, and our report is intended as a helpful contribution to the discussions that are beginning in earnest on our future relationship. We also look forward to exploring how the Welsh Government, civil society and we as a National Assembly can build these links and grow these relationships in the future. I look forward to updating Members about that work in due course. Diolch yn fawr.