Information about Brexit

We have grouped together information about Brexit and the future EU–UK relationship on this website. The website provides information on topics such as the withdrawal agreement, the transition period, negotiations on the future relationship and how the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will affect UK and Finnish citizens and businesses.

Brexit experts at the ministries and the contact information

Current situation

The United Kingdom is set to leave the EU on 1 February 2020. When the withdrawal agreement takes effect, a transition period will begin and lasts until the end of 2020. During this time, the EU’s current rules will remain in force and the future relationship will be negotiated. During the transition period, the UK will have all the rights and obligations of a Member State. The only significant exception is that Britain will no longer participate in EU decision-making or in the activities of EU bodies.

The purpose of the withdrawal agreement is to ensure the UK’s orderly withdrawal from the EU. The withdrawal agreement will, among other things, safeguard the residence, employment and social security rights of EU citizens residing in the UK and UK citizens residing in the EU for life if they have settled in the UK or the EU before the end of the transition period. With regard to persons moving to each other’s territory after 31 December 2020, free movement will end and restrictions will be placed on the entry and rights of EU and UK citizens.

The withdrawal agreement will dismantle all cooperation based on the UK’s EU membership in a orderly manner. A new relationship must be negotiated separately for each individual sector during the transition period – that is, during 2020. The future relationship will be clearly more distant than EU membership. The schedule for the negotiations is tight, as according to the Act on the Approval of the UK´s Withdrawal Agreement, the transition period cannot be extended. Due to the tight negotiation schedule, some sectors may fall outside the scope of the agreement starting on 1 January 2021. Businesses in particular should be prepared for this possibility.