Annex 1 European Advisory Group meeting – 12 July 2018 Item 1 : Update on Developments 30 April – Michel Barnier began a two day visit to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, including meeting Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. 30 April – Amber Rudd resigned as Home Secretary and was replaced by Sajid Javid. 2 May – UKG’s Brexit Cabinet Committee met to discuss post-Brexit customs arrangements. 2 May – Meeting of the JMC(EN) - Robin Walker provided an update on negotiations, including the March meeting of the European Council and the agreement reached on the terms of the Transition or Implementation Period. The Committee discussed the UK Government’s paper on the Devolved Administrations’ role in the negotiations. The Committee discussed the EU (Withdrawal) Bill and the progress made on reaching agreement on clause 11 (now clause 15). 2 May – The First Minister responded to the Plaid Cymru debate on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill. 9 May – As part of “Europe Day” the First Minister spoke at the European Commission Office in Cardiff. 14 May – The First Minister was in front of the External Affairs and Additional Legislation Committee. 14 May – Michel Barnier attended the General Affairs Council meeting in a EU27 format to provide an update on the state of play in the Brexit negotiations. 14 May – The Cabinet Secretary for Finance spoke at the NHS research and Development conference in Newport and stressed the importance of continued cooperation with the EU on research and development after Brexit. 14 May – The Cabinet Secretary for Finance also spoke at a Wales for Europe event. 23 May – Plenary debate on EAAL Committee’s report “Wales’ future relationship with Europe, Part One: a view from Wales”. 1 24 May – The Cabinet Secretary for Finance spoke at the WLGA’s Preparing for Brexit conference in Cardiff. 24 May – The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Minister for Housing and Regeneration attended the first meeting of the Ministerial Forum in Edinburgh. A second meeting took place on 27 June in London. 7 June – UK Government published its technical note setting out its proposal for a ‘backstop’ customs arrangement between the UK and the EU. 11 June – The European Commission published its Response to the UK Government’s note, stating that the proposal left ‘key questions unanswered’, that it did not ‘cover regulatory controls, leading to a hard border’ and questioned whether it is a backstop given that the proposal is time limited. 14 June – First Minister delivered a speech at a ‘UK in a Changing Union’ event at King’s College London, highlighting the need for the UK Government to rub out its red lines. 15 June – The Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs Fiona Hyslop and the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Finance wrote a joint letter to Home Secretary Sajid Javid to highlight shared concerns over the EU Exit Settlement Scheme. 19 June – At the plenary debate marking the second anniversary of the referendum, the National Assembly supported a motion that the Welsh Government’s White Paper, ‘Securing Wales’ Future’ still provides the best basis for securing a satisfactory outcome to the Brexit negotiations. 22 June – First Minister attended the British-Irish Council in Guernsey. Ahead of this meeting, he issued a joint statement with the First Minister of Scotland, calling on the UK Government to reconsider their position on the Single Market and Customs Union. 22 June – A ‘short notice’ meeting of the JMC(EN) also took place in Guernsey, which the First Minister attended. Discussions included an update on negotiations, the UK Government’s White Paper and Operational Readiness. 22 June – Airbus Group published its risk assessment which identified that should the UK leave the EU next year without a deal and without a transition period, it would lead to “severe disruption and interruption of UK production” and would force Airbus to “reconsider its investments in the UK and its long-term footprint in the country”. 2 26 June – The Cabinet Secretary for Health Statements on Brexit and impact on Welsh NHS. 26 June – EU (Withdrawal) Bill received Royal Assent. 27 June – Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs attended the Finance Committee’s inquiry into preparations for replacing EU funding post Brexit. 29 June – The European Council met in a EU27 format to review the state of play of Brexit negotiations and adopted conclusions on progress made. In summary, the conclusions, whilst welcoming progress made in parts of the legal text of the Withdrawal Agreement, expressed concerns that no substantial progress has been achieved on agreeing a backstop solution for Ireland/Northern Ireland and called for realistic and workable proposals from the UK about the future partnership. The European Council has also called for Member States to step up their work on preparedness at all levels and for all outcomes: this is in line with other indications that the EU27 are increasingly focusing on the realistic possibility of a ‘no deal’ outcome because of the political incapacity of the UK Government. 3 July – The Counsel General oral statement in the Senedd on: UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill. 5 July – The Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Constitutional Relations Michael Russell and Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Finance wrote a joint letter to the UK’s Brexit Minister David Lidington highlighting shared concerns over the involvement of devolved administrations in developing the UK’s White Paper on Brexit. 5 July – The Cabinet Secretary for Finance attended the eleventh meeting of the JMC(EN) in London. An update on the negotiations and the June European Council was provided, along with a discussion on the Future Framework White Paper. The UK Government’s proposals for the Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill were also discussed, along with the ongoing work on common frameworks. 6 July – UKG Cabinet met at Chequers and secured an agreed position on the future relationship with Europe. The initial communiqué suggested the Prime Minister had decided on an approach much closer to the Welsh Government’s positions than previously. Time would tell whether the UK Government had enough stability to hold this line – the resignations of David Davis and Boris Johnson raised questions in this regard. 10 July – The Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs published the Brexit and Our Land consultation document. 3 .