North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has questioned the Counsel General over actions he is taking to prepare Cabinet colleagues for changes which will happen as a result of ‘The Windsor Framework’, which was agreed by the Prime Minister and European Commission President last month.
The Windsor Framework, a post-Brexit legal agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union to change the way the Northern Ireland Protocol operates, was formally adopted last week.
Referring to the Framework during Wednesday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood, who Shadows the Counsel General, asked how Welsh Government departments are being prepared for the new way of operating.
He said:
“The Windsor Framework replaces the old Northern Ireland protocol, providing a new legal and UK constitutional framework. It delivers free-flowing trade in goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland by removing any sense of a border in the Irish Sea for goods staying within the UK. These goods will travel as normal through a new green lane without red tape or unnecessary checks, with the only checks remaining designed to prevent smuggling or crime.
“And to give businesses and individuals the time to prepare, the implementation of the agreement will be phased in, with some of the arrangements for goods, agri-food, pets and plants movements introduced later this year, and the remainder in 2024.
“These Regulations insert a new Schedule into the Northern Ireland Act 1998 which implements those aspects of the Windsor Framework relating to the involvement of the institutions of the 1998 agreement, and all Parties represented here in the Senedd supported the Framework in Westminster.
“Given your responsibility for the co-ordination of work on the Common Frameworks and the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 within the Welsh Government, what advice have you given Cabinet colleagues to prepare their Departments for these changes?”
In his response, the Counsel General said the Windsor Agreement is something the Welsh Government welcomes.
He said: “We wait to see precisely how it will operate, but anything that facilitates the economic links, the economic trade, and also the re-establishment of the Northern Ireland Government is really important to us.
“In terms of the frameworks, the biggest challenge to the frameworks is not in terms of the Windsor Agreement, it is in terms of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, and also the retained EU law Bill. It is the retained EU law Bill that still has very significant implications, both for Northern Ireland, for Wales, and for the rest of the United Kingdom. That is where my focus will be over the course of the coming weeks.”
ENDS