Farmers will be adrift if no EU deal is reached, says first minister

Speaking earlier today, Tuesday, the first minister said the prospect of leaving the EU without a deal was "exceptionally worrying".

Although talks between the UK Government, led by David Davis, and the EU have been going on since July, little progress appears to have been made.

Replying to a question from Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood on what plans the Welsh Government had put in place for the eventuality of no deal being reached, Mr Jones said: "There is no mitigation for no deal.

"There is nothing literally we can do in the short term if we find there’s no deal.

"In the longer term, it’s possible to look for new markets, but in the timescale we’re talking about, it’s impossible."

Although he said the Welsh Government had formed a working group developing solutions to the varying scenarios, Mr Jones added subsidies would make little difference if farmers and other producers were able to access the single market.

"It’s perfectly possible to leave the EU and yet still have access to the single market," he said.

"Norway have done it, Norway is a European economic area country.

"Nigel Farage himself was using Norway as an example of what we could be, and in that sense, if in little else, he’s right, because the last thing we want to see is no deal.

"No amount of preparation can prepare the Welsh economy for what is bound to be bad news if we cannot access properly the market where we sell nearly two thirds of our goods."

Although the Welsh Assembly is required to pass a legislative consent motion before Westminster can pass a law on anything which impacts a devolved area, this is not legally binding.

Therefore, the UK Government could pass the EU Withdrawal Bill even if the Welsh Assembly refused to give consent.

Ms Wood agreed failing to reach a trade deal before leaving the EU would be "bad news for Welsh jobs, for Welsh farming and for Welsh trade".