Presiding Officer puts effective engagement with EU partners at top of the agenda as Wales marks 40 years in Europe
30 April 2013
The National Assembly for Wales will host a joint event with the European Parliament and the European Commission, to mark 40 years of Wales in Europe on 1 May, coming a week ahead of Europe Day (9 May).
Britain formally joined the European Community in 1973, opening the door to the establishment of a strong relationship and engagement from Wales in the European project.
During that time, Wales has benefitted from EU membership in a number of ways. These include substantial funding as a result of the Common Agricultural Policy and in more recent years from the EU Structural Funds. Wales has also been able to benefit from freedom of movement, cultural, educational and other exchanges with communities from across Europe, as well as the growth of the Single Market.
The event, which will take place at the Pierhead, will include a presentation from Professor Richard Wyn Jones of the Wales Governance Centre (WGC), which now has its base in the Pierhead, followed by a debate with Assembly Members and Welsh MEPs about Wales’s experience of membership of the European Union.
In her welcome address at the event, the Presiding Officer will outline the importance of effective engagement with, and scrutiny of, EU policy by the National Assembly to ensure the European project best helps Wales.
She will also outline how changes made to the way that the National Assembly addresses European issues are proving a success.
“We take European issues seriously in the Assembly, and strong relationships with the European Institutions,” the Presiding Officer will say.
“We have taken a new approach under the Fourth Assembly – mainstreaming of EU work across our Committees – and there has been a clear step up in the level of involvement of Members, and in the range and depth of EU related issues covered.
“One important aspect of this has been the role of Committees as a focal point through which Welsh stakeholders can engage in debates about EU policy and legislation.
“It also allows us to better communicate the views from Wales to the European Parliament and the European Commission – talking legislature to legislature.
“Europe offers different ways of tackling issues in Wales and I am determined that the approach we have developed toward EU scrutiny over the past two years will strengthen our influence on European decision-making."
Prior to the Pierhead event, the Presiding Officer will host a meeting between the chairs of Assembly Committees, the four Welsh MEPs, the Welsh representatives on the Committee of the Regions, and the Heads of the European Commission’s UK representations and its office in Wales. The aim is to look at how these relationships can continue to be strengthened.