Last year, the UK Government agreed with the European Commission to follow some EU rules in an agreement called Common Understanding. They’re currently negotiating how to do this. To put whatever’s agreed into place domestically, the UK Government plans to use its European Partnership Bill (“the UK Bill”). Before the election, the UK Government had not shared a draft Bill with the previous Welsh Government.
The new Welsh Government’s election manifesto also includes plans for a Wales-only European Alignment Act (“the Welsh Bill”). It’s not clear how the Welsh Bill will differ from the UK Bill. The Welsh Government may decide it’s not needed at all. In addition to its scrutiny of any Welsh legislation, the Senedd could be asked to consent to the UK Bill, and other UK legislation that could follow.
Both governments believe closer EU alignment will bring economic opportunities. Before the election in March 2026, the First Minister said that he believed “firmly that the benefits far outweigh the negatives of close alignment”. Four Sixth Senedd committees working jointly on the UK-EU trade deal also found evidence of support from Welsh organisations and businesses.
This article explains how we got here and discusses key questions in anticipation of both potential Bills.
How did we get here?
Brexit means that the UK is free to diverge from EU rules. There are limits to this in the UK’s main trade agreement with the EU, which includes legally binding commitments not to roll back some pre-Brexit standards.
In general, divergence can enable governments to be more responsive to local needs but may create barriers and increase costs. On the other hand, aligning rules can reduce or remove barriers but might limit government choices.
During and since Brexit, the UK and EU have always agreed to jointly manage divergence between them. The arrangements to do so are explained in our previous article, To align or not to align? Wales’ EU question.
Common Understanding differed in two important ways which introduce a new dimension to Brexit. The UK:
- agreed to follow some EU rules, with no obligation on the EU to reciprocate. It will make an “appropriate” financial contribution to the EU “to support the relevant costs associated with the EU’s work in this policy area”;
- will align in three new areas: (i) sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) trade controls; (ii) emissions trading; and (iii) electricity trading.
Will we follow all EU rules?
For the UK Bill, the intention is to implement EU agreements “now and in the future”. It therefore seems likely that the UK Bill will start with the three new areas but could extend to more in future. For SPS alone, “at least 76” laws will need to be adopted, with the list dominated by devolved matters.
For a Welsh Bill, Plaid Cymru statements throughout 2025, like this one, consistently describe returning powers to Wales and aligning Welsh law “when in Wales’s best interest”. Specific proposals were also published by Plaid Cymru to align in healthcare “to improve NHS standards”. Its election manifesto suggests the Bill could cover specific areas:
[…] to enable us to keep pace with Europe’s world-leading standards in areas including environmental protection, public health and food standards.
‘EU’, ‘European’, ‘standards’, ‘regulation’ and ‘law’ have different meanings and implications, particularly when it comes to trade. The Welsh Bill’s technical language should therefore clarify the government’s exact intentions.
How might it be done?
Much depends on each Bill, and their combined effects. An important element will be the extent to which the first Bill (likely the UK Bill) shapes the second.
The following options could feature in both Bills:
One option would be to automatically align the UK and/or Wales to EU rules. However, the notes accompanying the Kings Speech appear to rule out a return to the pre-Brexit arrangement for the UK Bill, whereby EU law applied automatically in the UK via the European Communities Act 1972. The Welsh Bill could still automatically align Welsh law in devolved areas.
Another option would be to grant Ministers alignment powers, which appears to be the preferred approach for the UK Bill in the King’s Speech notes. They say the UK Bill will include powers to roll out UK-EU agreements. Existing UK alignment legislation, like the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 and the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, were criticised by the previous Welsh Government and Sixth Senedd committees for their breadth of UK Ministerial powers in devolved areas, allowing the Welsh Government and Senedd to be bypassed. Legislative consent for these UK Bills was also mixed. The previous Welsh Government opposed the former Bill but supported the latter, and the corresponding Senedd votes reflected this.
A third option could combine the first two options. Either or both Bills could automatically align and grant Ministers powers for future alignment. In devolved areas, powers could be given to UK or Welsh Ministers, or both.
Will the UK have a say in new EU rules?
Our previous article examined how unilateral alignment risks creating a democratic deficit because the UK is not represented in EU institutions.
Common Understanding says the UK can give its views on EU policy and legislation at an early stage on SPS and emissions trading and can contribute to EU decision-making on electricity trading, but offers no further detail on how.
Domestically, the UK Government says the UK Parliament will have its say before EU law is applied in the UK and that approval will be needed for any new agreements before the Bill’s powers can be exercised. No mention is made of the devolved parliaments.
The previous Welsh Government and Sixth Senedd committees criticised the role afforded to devolved nations in UK-EU relations and called for improved transparency around decisions that affect Wales or cover devolved competence.
The new government’s election manifesto calls for Wales to have a “seat at the table”, which it already has at both domestic intergovernmental meetings and UK-EU meetings. However, its observer status at the latter means that it has no voting or speaking rights. These arrangements are explained in our 2021 article, A seat at the table: representing Wales in the new UK-EU relationship, with an update article in 2022, The room where it happens: Wales in UK-EU relations.
What about the UK’s financial contribution to the EU?
Little is known of the financial contribution the UK has agreed to make to the EU in respect of two of the three areas (emissions trading and SPS). The previous Welsh Government said in July 2025 that discussions were ongoing on whether the devolved governments will contribute.
Questions will no doubt be raised on whether a contribution would outweigh the benefits of EU market access, and who might carry out any cost-benefit analysis.
Will we know about alignment?
Monitoring EU divergence since Brexit was regularly discussed in the Sixth Senedd.
In February 2026, the previous Welsh Government said that work to establish alignment and divergence in current UK-EU negotiating areas was “close to completion”. Although the UK’s governments hadn’t monitored divergence jointly before then, UK in a Changing Europe’s regular reports show that some divergence has occurred.
What lies ahead?
The previous Welsh Government was critical of Brexit and sought a closer relationship with the EU. Wales’ new government is promising a European Strategy and wants to rejoin the EU’s Single Market and customs union, an arrangement not yet secured by a non-EU country. The proposals discussed here are very different from that arrangement, and from EU membership more broadly.
The sequencing of the Bills will also need careful consideration. They could generate complexity in UK-EU arrangements which the Sixth Senedd’s legislation committee warned against. The previous Welsh Government believed that the UK Bill would complete its passage through the UK Parliament by the end of 2026.
Article by Sara Moran, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
