8. What consideration does the Welsh Government give to the trans-European transport network in developing its transport plans? OAQ52329

Our investment in the road network to meet European standards and our continual lobbying for UK Government to invest in our TEN-T rail network demonstrates the importance we place on good transport connectivity with the rest of the UK and Europe.

I thank you for that answer, but, planning ahead, there are examples of non-EU members being part of the TEN-T network—for example, Switzerland is. Is that something Cabinet has discussed in terms of post-Brexit planning, because the extent to which we co-ordinate with the EU on improvements to our major transport infrastructure—our roads, rails, airports and seaports—will have a huge bearing on economic activity for decades to come? Wales should look to maintain those bridges, even if England is intent on burning them.

The difficulty is geography, of course. We have to make sure that the network stays in place, across the whole of southern Britain particularly. You don't have to be an EU member to be part of it. Switzerland is part of TEN-T and they're not an EU member, and, of course, the network links two EU members: Ireland, on the one hand, and the countries on the continent on the other. So, there's no reason at all, rationally, why we shouldn't form part of that network. Only the most UKIP Brexiteer and flag-waver could possibly think that being part of an integrated programme to improve transport links is some kind of European plot. So, there is no reason why we shouldn't stay a part of this network.

Can I ask, First Minister, how you are engaging with the UK Government with regard to these routes? Clearly, as you just pointed out, this is a matter that stretches across the border, and it's clearly important that both Governments work together.

It is, and we do when we can. In his constituency, of course, he will know—he is seeing the Newtown bypass being constructed as we speak, which I know he's welcomed. He will have had the Four Crosses bypass as well, and then, of course, once through Llanymynech, the road starts to slow down, going through Pant into Shropshire and beyond. It can be difficult to engage the Department for Transport, so that they understand how roads that seem peripheral to them are in fact important to us, and to the communities that live along those roads as well in England. So, we will always continue to work with Government in England in order to make sure that our road network—and indeed our rail network—is as interconnected as possible.