Carwyn Jones and Nicola Sturgeon have published 38 proposed amendments to the UK government's EU Withdrawal Bill to protect the devolved powers currently held by the Welsh and Scottish administrations.
Welsh Labour and the SNP object to powers being transferred from Brussels to Westminster and then to Edinburgh and Cardiff. They want to see these powers move directly to the regions.
The UK government has said its intention is that any powers which are not incorporated into UK-wide frameworks will be sent on to the devolved parliaments.
The first minister of Wales said: “An issue as important as Brexit requires us to put our political differences aside and work together to provide stability for the sake of our economy, jobs and public services.
“One government cannot simply hijack powers from the other two.”
Jones insisted the ammendments, released on Tuesday, were not an attempt to stop Brexit but a measure to ensure the devolved nations were factored into the ongoing negotiations.
He added: “We want a bill that works with, not against, devolution. Until that point is reached, we cannot give it our consent.”
As @ScotGovFM & I publish amendments to the UK Govt’s #Brexit Bill we call on @theresa_may to work with the devolved nations, not against us pic.twitter.com/X4nmpm0edP
— Carwyn Jones (@fmwales) 19 September 2017
Damian Green, first secretary of state, said the government was “ready to listen” to the input of the devolved nations but stressed that the government “will do nothing that risks undermining the benefits of the UK”.
He added: “Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast will receive more decision making powers as a result of this process.
"But the UK government will not risk our internal UK market, or make life more difficult or more expensive for UK companies, workers or consumers.”
