Relationship between the EU and the UK

The negotiations on the new relationship between the EU and the UK that took place during the transition period were finally concluded on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2020. The new relationship is clearly more distant in all sectors than it was when UK was a member of the EU.

In the UK, the processing and approval of the agreements was finalised on 30 December 2020. MPs in Parliament’s House of Commons voted 521 to 73 to approve the agreement in a one-day session. The entry into force of the agreement does not require further action from the UK. 

The EU Member States, for their part, decided on 29 December 2020 that the agreements could be signed and that they could apply provisionally from 1 January 2021. The European Council adopted the unanimous decision by written procedure on 29 December 2020. This prevented a “no-deal” scenario between the EU and the UK at end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020.

The provisional application of the agreement is set to continue until 30 April 2021. The European Parliament is expected to approve the agreements by then. The Council, i.e. the Member States, will subsequently make a final decision on the approval of the agreements and they will enter into force definitely. 

Agreements and more information on the European Commission’s website