Carwyn Jones, First Minister
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
I visited Brussels for meetings about the EU’s possible future relations with Wales and the wider UK and about current EU-related activities.
On the subject of future relations, I met, separately, with the Ambassadors to the EU from Switzerland and Iceland to discuss their countries’ models for relations with the EU and their governments’ views of possible scenarios for the EU’s future relations with Wales and the UK.
The European Parliament will have an important role to play in the Brexit negotiations and I met Gianni Pittella MEP, President of the Socialists and Democrats Group in the Parliament and candidate to become President of the Parliament itself, to discuss the negotiations and post-Brexit scenarios.
On the current activities, I had a meeting at the European Commission to gain assurances that it will continue to support the South Wales Metro and not be influenced by the forthcoming negotiations. I also raised the issue of the good work being done in Wales in the field of marine renewable energy with Karmenu Vella, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
In addition, I met Welsh MEPs, the UK’s Permanent Representative to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, the Deputy Permanent Representative, Shan Morgan, and Lowri Evans, the Commission’s Director-General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs and the most senior Welsh official in the EU institutions.