More support to keep Wales well-prepared for post-transition challenges

As new barriers and complexities to our relationship with Europe continue to reveal themselves, Counsel General and Minister for European Transition Jeremy Miles today announced an additional £7m for projects helping to support sectors hit hardest.

The funding, from the EU Transition Fund, is to be spread across various strands of work being delivered by local government, academia, third sector and community groups to help ensure all parts of Wales are as well prepared as they can be for the continued uncertainty from our new relationship with the EU.

The EU Transition Fund was designed to support businesses and public bodies to respond to changes resulting in our exit from the European Union and help them to continue to deliver vital services to the people of Wales.

The latest tranche includes funding that will;

• build on our partnerships and networks across the world to promote Wales’ world class higher education sector internationally;
• enable local government Brexit coordinators to carry on working with councils to address concerns and implications locally;
• tackle food poverty in Wales, recognising that the implications of the new UK-EU relationship will be felt disproportionately across our society;
• support important activity in the third sector in Wales to better understand the implications of the new relationship with the EU;
• continue to fund advice and support services for non-UK EU citizens.

Jeremy Miles said, “Since we left the transition period at the end of December, it’s been clear for all to see how dramatically conditions have changed and how this is having a significant impact on our businesses and communities.

“To date, our European Transition Fund has been used to help hundreds of Welsh businesses, as well as public service organisations and other partners, plan and prepare for the impacts of our exit from the EU.

“We’re acting now to provide extra support for some of our most vulnerable groups as well as strengthening in areas that could be hit hardest by the perfect storm of covid and additional challenges resulting from our exit.

“We’ll continue to act in the best interests of the people of Wales and if you still have any questions or concerns about how the changes might affect you, please visit our Preparing Wales site for all the most up to date advice and guidance.”