Vaughan Gething MS, Minister for Economy
In accordance with the Inter-Institutional Relations Agreement, I am notifying Members I attended a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Group on UK-EU Relations on 06 March 2024.
The meeting was chaired by Leo Docherty MP, UK Government Minister for Europe at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Also in attendance were Ministers from Scotland and Northen Ireland: Angus Robertson MSP, the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture; Michelle O’Neill, MLA, the First Minister of Northern Ireland; and Emma Little-Pengelly, MLA, the deputy First Minister of Northen Ireland.
The meeting was held in preparation for the next meeting of the UK-EU Partnership Council under the Trade & Co-operation Agreement and of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee (WAJC), both expected to be held in early 2024.
We are pleased that the preparation of these meetings has improved.
The meeting provided a useful opportunity for me to outline several important Welsh Government issues including:
- Our desire for the UK Government to include the Devolved Governments in meetings and their preparation to maximise the effectiveness of the operation of the Trade Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
- The need for an agreement on mutual recognition on conformity assessments.
- The importance of retaining EU Data Adequacy arrangements.
- Our continuing concerns on EU import rules affecting the export of live bivalve molluscs.
The meeting agreed the updated Terms of Reference for this IMG.
The next meeting of the IMG on UK-EU Relations is not yet scheduled, nor has any agenda yet been agreed.