Dear Eluned Morgan MS,

Wales for Europe extends our congratulations to you in your success in becoming the new First Minister of Wales. The Welsh Government have presided over a period defined by the impacts of Brexit, and its damage to our local villages, cities and businesses will be felt for generations to come, unless something is done.

We hope you and the Welsh Government will, in light of the new Labour government in Westminster, and the significant shift in public opinion against Brexit, can significantly improve the relationship between Wales and our friends and allies in Europe. Following Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to Germany, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy's visits to Sweden and Poland, we urge you as our First Minister and the leading representative of the Welsh Government, to build trust and reset relations with European political leaders.

If the Welsh Government, along with the new Labour government in Westminster, is to collaborate in delivering on its ambitious policy proposals across the board, from health to housing, it will be essential to dismantle the trade barriers that Brexit has put up.

To that end, Wales for Europe asks your Government to take the following steps, as outlined in European Movement UK's Manifesto on Europe which they published during the general election campaign:

1. Promote a pragmatic foreign policy which has at its heart the UK working in much closer collaboration with all our European neighbours.

2. Recognising that European relations have been a divisive issue in British politics, we urge you to commission an independent ‘State of the Nation’ assessment of our future relations with Europe, with clear, objective analysis and recommendations to the Government as to how any improvements can be made, and proposing remedies for negative impacts Brexit is having on the Welsh economy and key cultural and societal sectors.

3. Seek deeper agreements with the EU on shared issues from defence to food safety to fighting climate change, establishing a new working framework with the European Union.

4. Put the rights of a generation hit hardest by Brexit first by opening negotiations with the European Union to restore the UK’s inclusion in Erasmus+ and accept the invitation to negotiate a bilateral youth mobility scheme.

Changing the direction of travel on Europe set by your predecessor needs to be a priority of your Government. Now is the time to press reset and forge a closer relationship with our neighbours.

Yours Sincerely,

Anthony Slaughter

President of Wales for Europe on behalf of the undersigned.

Dr. Charles Smith

Chair of Wales for Europe on behalf of the undersigned.

To view this Open Letter in Welsh, please click here.