Diolch, Llywydd, and I move the amendment tabled in the name of Darren Millar. 

Can I first of all say that I am pleased that the First Minister requested the Senedd recall to discuss this important matter? And I'm also pleased that Members will now be given the opportunity later to discuss COVID-19, given the seriousness of the situation facing us at the moment. But the First Minister talks about parliamentary scrutiny. Well, I would remind him that we haven't even voted on his recent coronavirus regulations, which have already been introduced, so I'm not going to take any lectures on scrutiny from the Welsh Labour Government. 

Now, Members will be aware that since the outcome of the referendum back in 2016, I've always advocated that we should leave the European Union with a deal as it was imperative in order to protect businesses, livelihoods and jobs. I'm therefore delighted that the UK Government has now secured a free trade agreement with the EU—a deal that many said would be impossible. It was not long ago that the doomsayers were predicting that securing a deal in 10 to 11 months, especially in the middle of a pandemic, was impossible. Well, how wrong they were. It's also been evident that some, including the Welsh Government, were still rehearsing the same old arguments about why we shouldn't leave the European Union. But that debate is long over as the people of Wales made that decision four and a half years ago. The reality is we now have a free trade agreement with the EU, and instead of criticising it for being insufficient, the Welsh Labour Government should now get behind it and support it, especially given that the UK Labour Party leader has now instructed his Westminster colleagues to vote for it. And we've constantly heard from the Welsh Government that leaving the EU without a deal would have been catastrophic for Wales. So, we now have an agreement; it needs to stop rehearsing the old arguments and support it.

So, let's look at the deal in more detail. It fully delivers on what the Welsh people voted for in the referendum. This agreement creates a new relationship between the UK and the EU, a relationship based on free trade and friendly co-operation. This deal takes back control of our laws, borders, money, trade and fisheries, something I would have thought the Welsh Government and, indeed, Plaid Cymru would welcome, as we hear them constantly wanting more powers devolved to the Senedd and them shouting for much more autonomy. Well, here it is. This does mean more control. On 1 January, the UK will have political and economic independence. This is the first ever free trade agreement based on zero tariffs and zero quotas that the EU has ever agreed. This will be fantastic news for families and businesses in every part of the UK. Businesses will be able to continue to trade smoothly, and people will be able to continue to buy goods from Europe tariff free. This deal also secures on the pledge to protect and boost our economy, and provides for continued market access across a broad scope of key service sectors, including professional and business services. This market access will support new and continued investment between businesses. In fact, businesses have welcomed this agreement. The Federation of Small Businesses Wales policy chair, Ben Francis, said, and I quote,

'Given the huge historic and future importance of EU markets to smaller Welsh exporters, this will be a relief and welcomed by those businesses which are also dealing with the huge pressures of coronavirus.'

And the chief executive officer of Airbus said, and I quote,

'Airbus welcomes the news that an agreement has been reached between the EU and UK.'

This agreement means that business travellers will be able to easily move between the EU and the UK for short-term visits, and the agreement on financial services ensures financial stability and consumer protection. This deal will also enable us to maintain high labour, environment and climate standards. It would also allow us to introduce our own modern subsidy system, so we can better support businesses to grow and thrive, and this new subsidy system will operate in a way that best suits the interests of UK and Welsh industries outside the EU state-aid regime.

This agreement will also support our primary objective of prioritising the safety and security of UK citizens. It offers streamlined co-operation on law enforcement, ensuring we continue to effectively tackle serious organised crime and counter-terrorism, protecting the public and bringing criminals to justice. It also provides for future co-operation between the UK and EU on emerging security challenges, such as cyber and health security, including continuing to work together on tackling the spread of COVID-19.

Now, one of the sticking points throughout the negotiations was fisheries, but what this agreement now does is it puts us in a position to rebuild our fishing fleet and increase quotas, overturning the inequity that British fishermen and women have faced for over four decades. By the end of the five-and-a-half-year transition, we will have full control of our waters, and the amount of fish available to UK fishermen and women will have risen from half to two thirds.

This agreement also includes arrangements for airlines and hauliers that provide them with certainty, and gives people the ability to travel to and from the EU easily for work and holidays; a social security agreement that has practical benefits for UK and Welsh citizens, including accessing healthcare when travelling in the EU; and agreements on energy that will benefit consumers by helping to keep prices down. So, Llywydd, that, in a nutshell, is the summary of the free trade agreement that has been negotiated by the UK Government, a deal that, yes, has required compromise on both sides, but an agreement that will benefit both the UK and the EU. So, let's get behind this agreement, and I therefore urge Members to support our amendment, and reject the negative motion in front of us today. Diolch.