Brexit Link

The UK left the EU at midnight CET (23.00 GMT) on 31 January 2020. A transition period is now in place until 31 December 2020. During this period all EU rules and laws will continue to apply to the UK. Virtually nothing will change for businesses or for the public. This will give everyone more time to prepare for the new agreements that the EU and the UK intend to make after 31 December 2020.

On 17 October 2019 the UK and the EU reached an agreement on the conditions for the UK’s departure from the EU (Brexit), and on a transition period until 31 December 2020. The transition period will not be extended. The UK has said that it does not want an extension. The option of an extension was contained in the withdrawal agreement. The UK and the EU had until 1 July 2020 to agree on a possible extension.

Both sides are now eyeing October’s European Council meeting as a de facto deadline, to allow time to pin the deal down before the transition period ends at 11 p.m. U.K. time on December 31.

During the transition period the UK and the EU are continuing to negotiate their new relationship. This includes agreeing on how companies in the EU will be able to do business in and with the UK after the transition period. They will also negotiate on security cooperation.

The new relationship will only become clear when the negotiations are complete, at the end of the transition period. The new agreements will enter into force after the transition period, which will end on 31 December 2020. The EU countries must first approve these new agreements. If the UK and the EU are unable to reach agreement, there will be a ‘no deal’ Brexit. This will happen at the end of the transition period.

Ci Consulta’s Communiq.EU is following closely the developments on BREXIT.

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Brexit drives up wages in the UK by ending free movement

14th June 2021

Staff are enjoying significantly higher salaries as Brexit, the pandemic and the furlough scheme cut competition for jobs - in an early sign that leaving the EU is benefitting lower-skilled workers in the UK. Data from recruitment firm Reed, first reported by The Sunday Times, has found that average salaries this year have risen by 18pc across hospitality and catering, 10pc in retail and 4...

Brexit tensions are a test for Europe, says French minister

14th June 2021

French European Affairs junior minister Clement Beaune said on Monday that current tensions over Brexit between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government and the European Union were "a test" for Europe. The tensions between Britain and the EU threatened to overshadow the Group of Seven summit's conclusion on Sunday, with London accusing France of "offensive" remarks that Northern I...

Ex-EU Brexit negotiator Barnier: UK reputation at stake in Brexit row

14th June 2021

Michel Barnier, the European Union's former Brexit negotiator, said on Monday that the reputation of the United Kingdom was at stake regarding tensions over Brexit. EU politicians have accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of not respecting engagements made regarding Brexit. Growing tensions between Britain and the EU threatened to overshadow the Group of Seven summit on Sunday, with Lo...

France’s Macron spars with UK’s Johnson over Brexit geography

13th June 2021

French President Emmanuel Macron stepped into the Brexit maelstrom on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit by sparring with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the post-Brexit geography of the United Kingdom and France. Ever since the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in 2016, the two sides have been trying to solve the riddle of what to do about the United Kingd...

Macron offers UK’s Johnson ‘Le reset’ if he keeps his Brexit word

13th June 2021

French President Emmanuel Macron offered to reset relations with Britain as long as Prime Minister Boris Johnson stands by the Brexit divorce deal he signed with the European Union. Since Britain completed its exit from the EU late last year, relations with the bloc and particularly France have soured, with Macron becoming the most vocal critic of London's refusal to honour the terms of p...

UPDATE – ‘Whatever it takes’, UK’s Johnson warns EU over post-Brexit trade

12th June 2021

Britain will do "whatever it takes" to protect its territorial integrity in a trade dispute with the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday, threatening emergency measures if no solution was found. Since Britain completed its exit from the EU late last year, relations between the two have soured, with both accusing the other of acting in bad faith over part of their Brex...

Britain’s Raab says ball in EU’s court over N.Ireland issue

11th June 2021

Britain's foreign minister Dominic Raab said that it was up to the European Union to respond to the UK's proposals on resolving the Northern Irish trade issue. "The ball's very much in the EU's court," Raab told Sky News on Friday. "We've put forward proposals, it's up to the EU now to come forward with a way that delivers win win, rather than the divisive approach we've seen recently."...

EU to press UK’s Johnson to adhere to N.Ireland protocol

10th June 2021

EU institution leaders will tell British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the G7 summit that Britain and the EU had both agreed the protocol governing Northern Ireland trade arrangements and that Britain must apply it and not make unilateral changes. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that the protocol was the "one and only solution" to avoid a hard border on th...

UPDATED: UK urges EU to move on post-Brexit trade with N.Ireland

9th June 2021

Britain will tell the European Union on Wednesday time is running out to find solutions to ease post-Brexit trade with Northern Ireland, saying any further legal action by the bloc would not "make life any easier" for people in the province. Since completing its exit from the EU late last year, Britain's relations with it have soured, with both sides accusing each other of acting in bad fa...

EU patience wearing thin with UK on N.Ireland, weighing options

8th June 2021

The European Union's patience towards Britain over Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland is wearing thin and the bloc will consider its options should Britain continue its "confrontational path", an EU official said on Monday. The European Commission and Britain meet on Wednesday for talks on their trade agreement and on their diffe...

Forced relocation of swaps clearing to EU would harm bloc, says LSE

8th June 2021

Forcing euro derivatives clearing to move from London to the European Union would bump up costs for customers and put EU firms at a competitive disadvantage to international peers, the London Stock Exchange Group argued in a note to clients. The EU is studying how trillions of euros in interest rate swaps positions could be shifted from LSEG's LCH clearing arm in London, where the bulk of the ...

Biden to press UK PM Johnson over Northern Ireland

7th June 2021

U.S. President Joe Biden will warn British Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to renege on the Northern Ireland Brexit deal when they meet for the first time at the G7 summit this week, The Times reported on Monday, citing unidentified sources. Preserving the delicate peace in Northern Ireland without allowing the United Kingdom a back door into the European Union's markets through the 310-m...

UK’s Frost says EU needs to change tack for N.Ireland talks

6th June 2021

British negotiator David Frost said on Sunday that the European Union needs to change its attitude if talks this week on the Northern Irish Brexit protocol are to be successful. "The EU needs a new playbook for dealing with neighbours, one that involves pragmatic solutions between friends, not the imposition of one side's rules on the other and legal purism," Frost wrote in an opinion pi...

UPDATED: Britain in post-Brexit trade deals with Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein

4th June 2021

Britain has reached post-Brexit trade agreements with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, the countries said on Friday. The three countries, which are part of the European Economic Area allowing them access to the single market, have relied on temporary trade arrangements with Britain since the end of a Brexit transition period on Dec. 31 following its departure from the European Union. "Tod...

Brexit: One month left for 5,300 Britons to retain rights in Malta

1st June 2021

UK citizens living in Malta, France, Luxembourg and Latvia have one more month - until 30 June - to apply to secure their post-Brexit rights. Some 5,300 Britons residing in Malta, have yet to file in the necessary documentation. Nearly 25,500 Britons still have to apply in France, 800 in Latvia and 1,700 in Luxembourg. Under the terms of the withdrawal agreement, UK citizens who were legally r...

Concern over detentions of EU nationals by UK on immigration grounds

15th May 2021

The European Commission will raise the recent detentions of EU nationals at U.K. airports on immigration grounds with the British government at a coming meeting, MEPs said. POLITICO had revealed that at least 30 EU nationals from Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and Romania have been detained at U.K. airports and held in immigration removal centres after being identified by U.K. border officials ...

Bankers quit London as Brexit relocations to EU step up

12th May 2021

Investment banks are shifting more senior staff out of London to financial centres across the European Union, accelerating the pace of moves after the pandemic and uncertainty over Britain's access to the bloc slowed relocations. Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Goldman Sachs are among those moving senior bankers, according to sources at the lenders, as European regulators push banks to better sta...

UK calls on EU to show pragmatism over N.Ireland trade

12th May 2021

Britain called on Tuesday for the European Union to show pragmatism over the issue of Northern Irish trade, which has been disrupted by rules imposed since a Brexit deal agreed between London and Brussels at the end of last year. "We’re committed to working through the issues with the EU urgently and in good faith," British negotiator and junior minister David Frost said in a statement. "I ...

UK officials admit some markets to be subject to duties under post-Brexit deal terms – FT

10th May 2021

Companies in freeports in Britain will not get to enjoy the full benefits of the new tax-efficient zones if they are exporting to certain countries including Canada, Norway, Switzerland and Singapore, the Financial Times reported, citing government officials. Freeports are a special kind of port where normal tax and customs rules do not apply. Goods that arrive into freeports from abroad a...

EU negotiator Barnier spills Brexit secrets in new book

6th May 2021

The EU's pointman on Brexit, Michel Barnier, releases a book Thursday recounting the insider track on Britain's acrimonious departure and teasing his ambition to become France's next president. Written with his trademark courtesy, the book, "The Grand Illusion: A Secret Diary of Brexit" will disappoint those hoping for salacious revelations from his four years of negotiating with UK counte...

Britain ends row with EU over diplomatic status of London ambassador

5th May 2021

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has granted full diplomatic status to the European Union's ambassador in London, ending a dispute that has strained relations between the two sides after Brexit. Britain initially refused to grant the same diplomatic status and privileges to EU Ambassador Joao Vale de Almeida as it gives to envoys of other countries, on the basis that the EU is not a nation state. ...

EU executive seeks bar on Britain from cross-border disputes accord

5th May 2021

Britain should not join a cross-border accord for recognising courts and their rulings, the European Commission recommended on Tuesday, in a move which British business leaders fear could rachet up costs for smaller firms. The Lugano Convention determines which countries' courts may hear cross-border civil and commercial disputes between the 27 European Union states, Iceland, Norway and Sw...

British Foreign Secretary says no final decision yet on EU ambassador’s status

2nd May 2021

Britain has not made a final decision on whether to grant the European Union's ambassador in London, Joao Vale de Almeida, full diplomatic status, Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday. Britain and the European Union have been at odds over the British government's refusal to grant EU representatives' full diplomatic status in London after Brexit. Asked whether a decision had been tak...

Five years after ‘Leave’ vote – Brexit trade deal becomes law

1st May 2021

Brussels (dpa) - The historic post-Brexit trade deal between the European Union and Britain come into effect on Saturday, as the fifth anniversary of the Brexit vote approaches. The trade deal - struck in late December - had been provisionally applied since the beginning of 2021 to allow the European Parliament time to ratify it. The British parliament gave its green light ba...

UPDATE – MEPs sign off Brexit trade deal as last major approval step

28th April 2021

BRUSSELS, April 28 (CDE/Reuters) - Britain remains the European Union's "important friend and partner", the chairman of the bloc said on Wednesday after the European Parliament cleared a new, post-Brexit trade deal between the two. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she warmly welcomed the vote. "The TCA marks the foundation of a strong and close partnership with the UK...

Ireland’s Coveney confident N.Ireland protocol solution can be found

28th April 2021

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's foreign minister said he firmly believes Britain and the European Union can solve outstanding issues around Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trading arrangements, particularly if middle ground can be found on sanitary and phytosanitary checks. "I firmly believe that acting together within the framework of the (Northern Ireland) protocol, the EU and UK can find soluti...

EU will use trade deal tools against Britain if needed- EU’s von der Leyen

27th April 2021

The trade agreement between Britain and the European Union will give each side tools to ensure compliance with that accord and the Brexit divorce deal between the two, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday. "Let me be clear: we do not want to have to use these tools. But we will not hesitate to use them if necessary," she told the Euro...

EU Commission sees potential in protein-based COVID-19 vaccines

24th April 2021

Th EU Commission may eventually expand its portfolio of COVID-19 jabs to protein-based vaccines, the EU executive's President Ursula von der Leyen suggested on Friday. "We will certainly add other potential vaccines, for example protein-based vaccines have also quite a potential," von der Leyen said at a news briefing. The vaccines currently being developed by Novavax and Sanofi/Glaxo-...

EU clears 100 mln euro French aid for Brexit-hit fisheries sector

23rd April 2021

EU state aid regulators approved on Friday 100 million euros ($120.6 million) in French aid for the country's fisheries sector hit by Britain's withdrawal from the bloc and the subsequent cut in France's fishing quota. The state support is available via three schemes. One will partially compensate vessels forced to remain idle due to the quota reductions or barred from accessing UK waters ...

UPDATED: European Parliament agrees to April vote on EU-UK trade deal

22nd April 2021

The European Parliament will vote on a post-Brexit trade deal agreed between Britain and the EU next Tuesday after political leaders backed down on a threat not to ratify the accord due to British changes in Northern Ireland trading arrangements. EU lawmakers are expected to back the trade and cooperation agreement overwhelmingly, a final step in its approval, but there had been some doubt...

More Irish-British trade diverted via N.Ireland post-Brexit

19th April 2021

More firms are shipping goods between Ireland and Britain via Northern Ireland to avoid post-Brexit red tape and delays, the head of Dublin Port said on Monday, describing it as a "worrying" and potentially permanent development. The introduction of checks on some goods since neighbouring Britain left the European Union's trading orbit on Dec. 31 has led to a sharp fall in trade between th...

European firms battle to reach UK clients

18th April 2021

Post-Brexit trade rules mean prosecco supplier Serena Wines 1881 must store bottles destined for Britain on costlier, fumigated pallets in their own corner of its warehouse in the northeast Italian town of Conegliano. The new shipment requirement is one example of the extra cost and complexity that firms across continental Europe face serving British customers since Jan. 1, adding to disru...

Northern Ireland faces medicine shortages ‘unless Brexit rules are changed’

18th April 2021

Vital medicine supplies to Northern Ireland will be disrupted unless Boris Johnson changes the way the province is treated under the terms of the UK’s exit from the European Union, the Democratic Unionist Party is warning. The comments come after face-to-face talks between Lord Frost, the Cabinet minister in charge of Brexit, and his EU counterpart, vice president Maros Šefčovič, on the so...

Britain must act jointly with EU on Northern Ireland – EU’s Sefcovic

16th April 2021

BRUSSELS, April 16 (Reuters) - The European Union will continue its legal action against Britain over the latter's unilateral action in Northern Ireland and said only jointly agreed solutions to trading issues were acceptable. European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic hosted British negotiator David Frost for talks on Thursday evening and said that only agreements by joint bodies estab...

UK’s Frost says positive momentum in EU talks, difficult issues remain

16th April 2021

LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Talks between Britain and the European Union on post-Brexit trade to Northern Ireland have seen some positive momentum but difficult issues remain, UK negotiator David Frost told his EU counterpart late on Thursday. "Frost said that the intensive discussions between the Co-Chairs of the Specialised Committee on the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland in recent w...

City of London Brexit hit worse than expected, says study

16th April 2021

LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Over 400 financial firms in Britain have shifted activities, staff and a combined trillion pounds ($1.4 trillion) in assets to hubs in the European Union due to Brexit, with more pain to come, a study from New Financial think tank said on Friday. "We think it is an underestimate and we expect the numbers to increase over time: we are only at the end of the beginnin...

European Parliament committees back EU-UK trade deal

15th April 2021

BRUSSELS, April 15 (Reuters) - The European Parliament's two committees overseeing relations with Britain voted overwhelmingly in favour of the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement on Thursday, clearing the path to final ratification of the deal. The foreign affairs and trade committees backed the agreement by 108 votes to one, with four abstentions, the parliament said in a statement. The...

UPDATED: UK to respond to EU legal action over N.Ireland by mid-May

14th April 2021

Britain has agreed with the European Union that it will respond to the bloc's legal action over how it has introduced new trading rules for Northern Ireland by mid-May, a spokeswoman for the government said on Wednesday. The EU launched legal action against Britain in March for unilaterally changing trading arrangements for Northern Ireland that Brussels says are in breach of the Brexit di...

UK, EU talks on N.Ireland are constructive, differences remain, says UK PM’s spokesman

12th April 2021

LONDON (Reuters) - Talks between Britain and the European Union on part of their Brexit deal which governs trade with Northern Ireland are constructive but there are still differences on how to overcome issues that have triggered violence in the British province. "The discussions have been constructive but there are still significant differences that need to be resolved," the spokesman told re...

Brexit weighs on French exports to Britain in February

8th April 2021

French exports to Britain picked up 4% in February but were still at only 84% of the monthly average of the second half of 2020, as post-Brexit trade rules continued to impact commercial flows, customs data showed on Thursday. France is one of Britain's most important trading partners within the European Union and many economists forecast that Britain's exit from the world's largest free t...