Part of 4. Questions to the Counsel General and Minister for European Transition (in respect of his European Transition Minister responsibilities) – in the Senedd at 12:55 pm on 15 July 2020.
The arrangements that we have on an inter-governmental basis are inadequate, certainly for the challenges that we faced in leaving the European Union, and they've been intensified by the combined effects on our economy, which is what her question is focusing on, of both COVID and leaving the European Union. What we need is a rational set of relationships that are able to manage difference and avoid or reconcile disputes when they arise in a much more mature, programmed way than currently exists, and in a way that better reflects the parity of esteem that Governments across the UK should expect as a foundational principle here.
In the context of the economy in particular, it is disappointing to say that the work around the internal market—which is very important, actually, in terms of how the UK's economy functions into the future, and which we as a Government certainly think is a—. You know, there's certainly work there that could bring benefit to Wales in terms of co-operation across the UK about economic development. But if that is brought forward as the proposition and imposed by one part of the UK on the other, that will not work, and it will not be acceptable to this Senedd. I would be very surprised if it were. And so, that is a good example, I think, of the difference that we think can be brought by a collaborative, principles-based approach, rather than one part of the UK seeking to impose an approach on the other. I very much hope that the proposals that the UK Government brings forward in this space, if they are as we expect them to be, can move away from those and closer to the kind of arrangements that we think are in the best interests not just of Wales, but of all parts of the UK.