Welsh first minister warns N Ireland trade deal could hit port traffic

The Welsh first minister has warned that this week’s UK-EU deal on Northern Eire commerce might shift visitors from his nation’s ports to these in England and Scotland.

Mark Drakeford mentioned in an interview with the FT that the adjustments, which lowered controls on freight travelling instantly from Britain to Northern Eire, might harm the port of Holyhead and to a lesser extent these of Fishguard and Pembroke.

“We hope that there gained’t be perverse incentives for companies to keep away from ports the place the route of journey is on to the Republic in favour of ports that function instantly between Northern Eire and GB,” he mentioned on a visit to Brussels.

“How will these new preparations affect Holyhead? Fishguard? Pembroke Dock. It’s a priority for us that we’ll be watching rigorously.”

He mentioned Brexit had “very badly affected” ports in Wales. The Dublin to Holyhead route was the principle route utilized by Irish hauliers taking items to France and past over the so-called “land bridge”. However as soon as Brexit imposed customs paperwork and different checks, many switched to direct ferries to France.

Holyhead traffic halved in January 2021 when Nice Britain left the EU single market; it has now returned to 70 per cent of pre-Covid and pre-Brexit ranges, Drakeford mentioned. He added it had hit a “cussed ceiling” and its share might now fall additional.

Northern Eire remained within the EU single marketplace for items after Brexit to keep away from a commerce border on the island of Eire.

The so-called Windsor framework introduced on Monday ended two years of rancour over the area’s post-Brexit buying and selling preparations, referred to as the Northern Eire protocol.

The brand new deal ensures freight shifting instantly from mainland Britain destined to stay within the area makes use of a “inexperienced lane” with lighter controls, whereas items shifting on to the Republic are topic to extra rigorous checks.

Regardless of the affect of the Windsor framework on Welsh ports, Drakeford welcomed the deal and mentioned he hoped it could result in improved ties between the UK and EU.

“You hope that it opens the best way to a special type of extra constructive, extra collegiate relationship with our nearest and most vital neighbours, and that in time that would result in a change in among the extra regrettable elements of the [post-Brexit] Commerce and Cooperation Settlement,” he mentioned.

Drakeford was in Brussels to press for UK involvement in initiatives comparable to Horizon Europe, the €96bn analysis programme, and Erasmus Plus, which permits younger individuals to check at universities overseas. London elected to go away the Erasmus programme after Brexit.

The Labour authorities in Wales is spending as much as £65mn on Taith, its alternative to Erasmus.

“Now we have discovered, by our requirements, a big sum of cash to have the ability to assist 15,000 younger individuals from Wales to go to, research, work, volunteer in different nations, and we can pay for 10,000 younger individuals from different elements of the world to come back and do the identical factor in Wales. We’d relatively be a member of Erasmus Plus.” 

Drakeford additionally needs a revival of collectively funded EU-UK growth initiatives, such because the Wales-Eire Interreg infrastructure programme, which continues on a smaller scale bilaterally.

“There are these sensible issues that make a distinction to the prospects of individuals dwelling in Wales, on which the doorways have been closed. I’d hope that the opposite aspect of a deal on the protocol that these issues might start to reopen.”