The Welsh government is being urged to open talks with Ireland in an attempt to secure continued access to European funding after Brexit, under a plan by Plaid Cymru.

The party believes it can take a leaf out of Norway’s book. The country gets EU funding despite not being a member, thanks to a partnership with Sweden.

“The Welsh government cannot afford to play ‘wait and see’ with Wales’s future relations with our nearest neighbours and must think creatively in order to further Wales’s interests post-Brexit,” said the party’s external affairs spokesman, Steffan Lewis.

He made his call for a new Celtic Sea alliance on the first of two days of biannual talks at the British-Irish parliamentary assembly in Cardiff.

It says that the Belfast agreement provides for bilateral deals even if the UK quits the EU. Lewis believes such an alliance could mitigate the economic impact of Brexit on Wales and Ireland, which is already being hit by the fall of the pound.

The exit from the EU could have devastating consequences on the economy of Wales, where the vast majority voted for Brexit.

It is the single biggest beneficiary of EU funds in Britain, with £2.7bn earmarked in the present round of funding. This includes allocations to farms, the European Social Fund, the Horizon science and research fund and the European Regional Development Fund, which accounts for the lion’s share of money at £1.8bn.

Ireland is already feeling the brunt of the Brexit vote following the drop of sterling. Britain is the country’s single biggest trading partner and exports are already hit, particularly in food and agriculture.

Several mushroom farms in Ireland have already taken a hammering because of the exchange rate and last month political leaders warned of the “incalculable consequences” Brexit would have on the Irish economy.

Brexit also poses an opportunity for Wales, with the devolved government expected to redouble efforts to lure Irish business.

There are already strong trade links between the two countries, with several major Irish food processing plants in north and south Wales, and it is widely felt that the only way Irish exporters can soften the Brexit blow is to have manufacturing offshoots in Britain.

Lewis: “It is necessary for that to be formalised between the governments of Wales and Ireland through an agreement that could establish a Celtic Sea alliance, focused on collaboration between the two nations but especially the western regions of Wales and the eastern regions of Ireland.”

There may also be an opportunity for Ireland and Wales to dip into EU inter-region funds, known as Interreg.

Norway and Sweden share €73m (£62m) from Interreg funds for programmes designed to protect vulnerable border regions, in terms of environment, employment and social cohesion.

The notion that Wales could continue to benefit from EU funds comes as similar attempts are made in sectors such as education and science, which are heavily dependent on EU funds.

British universities are considering plans to open branches inside the European Union to soften the blow of Britain’s exit.

University leaders fear Brexit will make student and staff recruitment much more difficult, cutting off EU research and funding and probably constricting the flow of EU students, who have been the fastest growing proportion of young undergraduates.

Funding in scientific research often flows from collaboration with institutes across Europe, and elite universities feel they will be excluded from cross-border consortia long before Britain quits the EU.



