Diolch yn fawr, Lywydd. Ar ôl y refferendwm Ewropeaidd, fe wnes i ddweud y byddwn yn dweud wrth y Cynulliad yn gwmws beth yw’r datblygiadau a hefyd rhoi cyfleoedd aml i’r Cynulliad roi sylwadau o fewn i’r Siambr hon, ac wrth gwrs, i ddadlau’r sylwadau hynny.

Members know that I attended a plenary session of the Joint Ministerial Committee last week hosted by the Prime Minister in Downing Street. My Scottish and Northern Irish counterparts were, of course, also present and I was accompanied by the Cabinet Secretary for finance, Mark Drakeford. Llywydd, before I report on the JMC, it’ll be useful to set out some context on related matters.

We know from the Prime Minister’s earlier statements that the UK Government intends to invoke article 50, pressing the trigger on exit negotiations, no later than the end of March next year. We also learned that the so-called great repeal Bill, which will, in fact, transfer EU law into domestic legislation at the point of the UK’s exit from the European Union, will move forward, although there are questions as to how that works in the devolved context. The approach is broadly sensible in my view, but again, there are complex issues, as I said, including the relationship of European law to devolved matters. Where European legislation falls within devolved competence it will, of course, be for us in Wales to decide in due course which parts of European law we may wish to preserve or repeal.

Llywydd, our Cabinet sub-committee on European transition is meeting regularly and will report to full Cabinet before Christmas. Beyond this, Ministers are working across portfolios to take views and debate issues so that the Welsh Government is able, ultimately, to reflect a broad spread of opinion across the country. The council for economic renewal, the Valleys taskforce, the higher education Brexit working group and round tables for stakeholders on environmental and agriculture issues are all examples of how Government is stimulating debate and contributions on EU exit issues.

As Members know, our European advisory group is also contributing to medium and longer term thinking about what sort of Wales we want to be outside the EU, and to plan for scenarios for different possible outcomes to the Brexit negotiations. That group brings together opinion from across the spectrum and a range of expertise and authority from civil society. I am especially grateful to the members of this group for giving their expertise freely and for the collaborative manner in which they are contributing to the Welsh national interest.

Llywydd, I return now to last week’s joint ministerial committee. This was the first meeting since the referendum of political leaders from all parts of the UK in the same room at the same time. If anything approaching a consensus UK position is possible, then it is through this forum where it has to be agreed. I have made clear my view that the UK Government should seek such consensus and the endorsement of the Assembly and the other devolved institutions for its negotiation framework.

Llywydd, I set out our priorities for Wales, and these will be familiar to Members here. I was clear that continued free and unfettered access to the single market is our absolute priority. We cannot agree to the imposition of tariffs or non-tariff barriers between the UK and our European neighbours. Any move in this direction would massively undermine the interests of Welsh exporting businesses and immediately impoverish the Welsh offer in the global competition for foreign direct investment. Markets beyond the European Union cannot and could not compensate for a collapse in our European trade. At least 40 per cent of our exports go to Europe, and all the available economic data show that geography plays a decisive part in international trade flows. Llywydd, we are globally ambitious and we support our businesses wherever in the world they want to trade, but we cannot collude with any settlement that undermines their European exports. I repeat: Welsh electors voted to leave the EU; they did not vote to ruin the Welsh economy. If I could, at this point, quote the Member Rhun ap Iorwerth, who did say the people of Wales voted to leave, not take leave of their senses, which I thought was rather a good line. I think that sums up where we are.

I raised the vital matter of financing for Wales after the UK’s withdrawal. As things stand, the UK may leave the EU in spring 2019. Beyond this date, there is no budget provision for farmers or rural communities and no money for regional economic development in place of structural funds. A revision of the block grant in the light of EU exit will become increasingly urgent for stability in the months ahead.

Llywydd, I have recognised previously that concern about unrestricted EU migration is part of what contributed to a leave vote. The rights of EU citizens already living here must be protected, and we will tolerate no xenophobia or racism in Wales. Migrants from the EU help sustain the Welsh economy, and we anticipate a continuing need for recruitment across different sectors of the Welsh economy in the years ahead. We do await proposals from the UK Government about how it intends to approach managed migration after we leave the EU, and we will examine those proposals carefully. But I put the UK Government on notice: we will agree to nothing that damages or undermines the Welsh economy.

Llywydd, my final substantive point was about our powers as a devolved institution. When the UK leaves, EU regulation in devolved policy areas will be lifted and the Welsh Government and this National Assembly will exercise full control over policies already devolved to us: agriculture, environment and fisheries, for example. We will resist any attempt—any attempt—by the UK Government to claw back powers to itself. People in Wales didn’t vote for that. We accept that some issues will be best dealt with on a UK-wide basis, that’s true, but this can only be done through intra-governmental agreement, through some pooling of sovereignty, not imposition. EU exit requires new thinking about how the UK itself operates and there’s much work to be done in this area.

It is disappointing, and damaging to confidence, that the UK Government has been unable, so far, to offer a coherent outline of its broad approach to EU negotiations. The excuses for not doing so are running thin, and the credibility of the UK is not helped by prevarication and, it must be said, confused and mixed messaging. So, the UK Government does need to get its act together.

Llywydd, the Prime Minister has agreed that the JMC plenary should now meet more often, and I do welcome that. We have further agreed a new formation of the JMC known as JMC (EN)—European negotiation. This will be the forum for detailed deliberation of the UK position. We will be a reliable partner in this process and we will act in good faith. We want what’s best for Wales, and we have a duty to pursue that interest with vigour. That is exactly what we will do.

Llywydd, Members will also wish to be aware that the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure has written to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ask for more information about the Nissan decision, and the implications for businesses in Wales.

We do now stand at a major crossroads for Wales and the UK, and decisions taken now will determine our future for decades ahead. This Government accepts and embraces our responsibility, but we can’t work alone. We value contributions from all, and we aim to build consensus where we can. Llywydd, I will, of course, continue to keep Members up to date as matters progress.