FIRST minister Carwyn Jones made a statement in the Senedd this afternoon on the UK Government's draft agreement with the European Union. Here's what he said:

"It is symptomatic of the handling of the UK Government’s Brexit negotiations that I am providing an update to Assembly Members amidst the worst political crisis I have seen. As I will explain, it is a crisis that could have been avoided. It is a crisis rooted in a reluctance to be honest about the difficult trade-offs needed in the negotiations and an unwillingness to build a broad consensus, including with the devolved administrations about the approach to the unprecedented challenges of leaving the European Union.

And now we have the hard line Brexiteers in the Conservative party, who are actively working to bring about a no deal outcome, seeking to deepen the political crisis still further with a leadership election.

Today, Llywydd I want to set out the Welsh Government’s position on the agreement and outline the next steps that need to be taken, and taken urgently by the UK Government.

It is important to make the distinction between the withdrawal agreement and the future economic eelationship that will need to be set out in the political Ddeclaration.

Many aspects of the withdrawal agreement are desperately needed.

Securing the transition period is absolutely essential to avoid the cliff edge in just four months’ time.

The protection of citizens’ rights will secure the status of the EU citizens who have made their lives here, contributing to our economy and our public services, and also those of UK nationals who have chosen to live and work or retire elsewhere in Europe. It is shameful that the UK Government has used the UK and EU citizens as a tactical pawn in their party political chess game.

And of course we fully recognise the importance of securing the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland to make sure that Brexit does not put at risk the peace and prosperity that agreement has brought to the island of Ireland.

I have said in this chamber on numerous occasions that border issues on the island of Ireland are at the very heart of Brexit and demonstrate the failings of the latest agreement and those of the prime minister.

We understand why, given the dangerous nonchalance of some in the Conservative Party about the Good Friday Agreement, the EU27 needs a robust guarantee that there will be no return to a hard border. Elements of the backstop are at best problematic but they would never need to be implemented if the UK Government embraced a solution which recognises the importance of the closest possible relationship between the UK as a whole and the EU, short of membership.

If the UK Government adopted the position we set out, jointly with Plaid Cymru, almost two years ago, for a future economic relationship that included full and unfettered access to the single market and a customs union there would be no need to ever invoke any backstop arrangements.

But what we have instead from the UK Government is a totally inadequate political declaration.

The real failure of the current deal is the worrying lack of progress in, and lack of clarity, of the political declaration. What has the UK Government been doing for the last two years?

We have no real idea what the UK’s future relationship with our largest and most influential trading partner will look like.

And the reason for this is that the prime minister is continuing with her failed strategy of looking inwards - focussing on managing the internal turmoil of the Conservative party - and not focusing on the needs of the United Kingdom as a whole at the interests of Wales and the other nations.

To be absolutely clear, the political crisis is all of the UK Government’s own making.

The prime minister has spent the last two years encouraging the expectations of militant ideologically – driven hard Brexiteers in her own party – small wonder they feel let down by what she has tabled.

She now, belatedly, needs to face down those in her party who will never support a relationship with the EU27. She needs to listen to the views of the business community, the trade unions and the devolved governments. She could then begin to negotiate the right deal with the EU27.

In Brussels, the EU27 have been clear that if the UK Government moves away from their misjudged red lines and embraces a close economic relationship – one that we set out in Securing Wales’ Future – then a cleaner, more coherent and favourable deal can be achieved.

And while we see the UK Government’s position moving ever closer to ours, by only doing so in the most reluctant way - kicking and screaming - the prime minister has lost all the negotiating advantage she could have achieved. Rather than platitudes under subject headings, with next to nothing on key issues like future migration and participation in programmes such as Horizon Plus or Erasmus, the political declaration needs to be based on a firm, mutual commitment from the UK and the EU27 to a future relationship grounded in long-term participation in a Customs Union and the single market – across all sectors.

This is on offer. Michel Barnier has repeatedly talked about his preferred model being Norway Plus, but progressing this has not been possible with a UK government intent on clinging on to their red lines.

So what needs to change, before we could even consider supporting this deal? Perhaps relatively little in the withdrawal agreement itself, apart from ensuring that the backstop is never needed. And if our proposal of a long-term customs union is accepted, any theoretical case for the backstop largely evaporates.

But we need a fundamental rewriting of the political declaration – and a fundamental change of mindset to be honest about the fact that the UK Government has made a clear choice to prioritise our economic stability over the soundbite of ‘taking back control of our laws, borders and money’.

No one voted in the referendum for the economic and social catastrophe of a no deal departure.

We need to see a political declaration that sets out the intent of both sides to negotiate a long term relationship that clearly reflects the choices of Securing Wales Future – something which is no longer unrealistic given the position the government have already moved to.

This approach would render the backstop unnecessary and would provide certainty for our people and our businesses that there won’t be another cliff edge in December 2020. It would almost certainly command a large majority in the House of Commons.

The time is very short until the European Council but the political declaration is clearly a work in progress.

Following my demand for an urgent meeting, at yesterday’s meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU negotiations, the cabinet secretary for finance (Mark Drakeford) set out again our view on the right future relationship with the EU27.

The final position of the Welsh Government will be determined in the light of whether or not the government at this late stage sees sense."