Drakeford blasts UK Government over clamp down on international diplomacy by devolved governments

Luke James, Brussels

Mark Drakeford has blasted the UK Government for taking a “Big Brother” approach to international meetings held by devolved governments.

Speaking exclusively to Nation.Cymru in Brussels during his final international engagement as First Minister, Mr Drakeford said UK Government officials should not have an automatic right to sit-in on meetings held by Welsh ministers abroad.

His comments come after two consecutive Foreign Secretaries clamped down on international diplomacy by devolved governments.

James Cleverly said all meetings by Scottish or Welsh ministers must be organised though and attended by UK officials, while David Cameron threatened to shut the Scottish Government’s international offices after it held a meeting with the Turkish President without a UK official.

Unfortunate

“It’s very unfortunate that the UK Government has chosen to act in that way,” said Mr Drakeford.

“There’s no evidence at all on the ground, as far as Wales is concerned, that we haven’t always acted entirely cooperatively with the Foreign Office and staff of the UK Government. We’ve been hugely helped by it. It’s been a great asset to us to do that.

“But I cannot possibly sign-up to a proposition that says that if I visit a part of the world, or Welsh ministers do, and we choose to have a meeting, then the UK Government has some sort of automatic right to sit in the room.

“Almost always we’re very glad to have them there but that’s because we choose to have them there and that’s different. We choose to have them there because we always think it’s in our interests.

“But there’s a difference between doing that in a cooperative and collaborative way and a Big Brother way.”

Spat

Mr Drakeford was himself at the centre of a diplomatic spat with the UK Government during his first visit to Brussels as First Minister in 2019.

The Foreign Office initially refused to provide an official car for his visit amid accusations the Welsh Government would undermine the UK Government’s Brexit policy.

Since then, Mr Drakeford has travelled to Brussels every year, outside of Covid restrictions,
around St David’s day.

It marked a change in strategy from his predecessor Carwyn Jones, who preferred to spend the national day promoting Wales in North America.

“Brexit initiated a renewed consideration of the Welsh Government’s international strategy,” said Dr Rachel Minto, an expert in EU politics at Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre.

“The Welsh Government has clearly emphasised the European dimension of its international activity, in both deeds and words.

“They have maintained their office in Brussels, opened new international offices in other European cities and also established and strengthened partnerships with European regions.”

Flanders

The First Minister met Jan Jambon, the Minister-President of Flanders, during his visit to Brussels yesterday.

Flanders is one of six European countries the Welsh Government has singled out as “priority international relationships.”

Bart Brosius, Flanders’ lead diplomat in the UK, said the Welsh Government has done a good job at building “soft power” in Europe.

“They have been able to portray themselves as a progressive country and a reliable international partner,” he told Nation.Cymru.

“The Welsh Government have been quite smart in dealing with the blow up of leaving Erasmus by establishing the Taith student mobility programme. It was quite appreciated in the EU in softening the landing of Brexit.”

However, the Welsh Government has also faced setbacks and criticism of its international work.

Its efforts to lobby the EU over Brexit were described as “ineffective” by the senior advisor to former EU chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier.

Nation.Cymru recently reported concerns in the civil service over the appointment of someone with no diplomatic experience as head of the Welsh Government’s delegation to India.

And last week Labour MS Huw Irranca-Davies, who chairs the Senedd’s constitution committee, said “stakeholders in Wales and in Brussels highlighted to us that they did not know what the Welsh Government’s strategic priorities for UK-EU relations are.”

The committee recommended that the Welsh Government should establish a dedicated European strategy and reconstitute the European advisory group that was disbanded after Brexit.

The First Minister rejected both recommendations. He said the decisions should be taken by his successor, who will be announced on March 16.

He told Nation.Cymru: “Some people in Wales argue for a European strategy. I’ve always felt we have an international strategy. Our ambitions for our future relationship with the European Union are quite clearly set out in it. It was designed to be there for five years and we should allow that to happen.”

“An incoming First Minister will arrive just as that five year period is coming towards its conclusion and will no doubt want to take a view of their own as to how we best articulate our ambitions for our future relationship with the European Union.

“But I don’t think it’s the case that we haven’t articulated it. It’s there in the international strategy.”