EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA): Briefing Series Announcement

More than four years after British citizens voted to leave the European Union in the Brexit referendum, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier was able to announce: “We have delivered an orderly Brexit” and “The clock is no longer ticking”. It took until Christmas Eve – a week before the end of the transition period – to reach an agreement and avoid the feared “no deal” Brexit. According to Boris Johnson, the United Kingdom would now be “both sovereign and European”.

Subject to the approval of the European Parliaments, the United Kingdom will thus leave the EU for good after an eleven-month transitional phase. In addition to the Withdrawal Agreement, which entered into force in February last year, the basis for future cooperation and collaboration will be the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

In a six-part briefing series, BLOMSTEIN provides a first insight into the changes that economic operators and citizens on both sides of the Channel will have to prepare for in the coming months and years. It should be noted that the comprehensive treaty document has only been available for a few days and is only a draft for the time being. Therefore, the briefing series can only provide a rough overview, but not a final legal analysis. For additional information, explanations and visualisations, please refer to the documents published by the European Commission.

Part 1: Implementation and the new EU-UK relationship

Part 2: Trade in Goods and Services

Part 3: Services and Investment, Digital Trade and Intellectual Property, Energy and Level Playing Field

Part 4: Transport and aviation, fisheries, social security cooperation, free movement and other cooperation

Part 5: Governance, Dispute Settlement, Law Enforcement

Part 6: Conclusion