Brexit withdrawal agreement
The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community,[3][4] is a treaty between the European Union (EU), Euratom, and the United Kingdom (UK), signed on 24 January 2020,[5] setting the terms of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and Euratom. The text of the treaty was published on 17 October 2019,[6] and is a renegotiated version of an agreement published in November 2018. The earlier version of the withdrawal agreement was rejected by the House of Commons on three occasions, leading to the resignation of Theresa May as Prime Minister and the appointment of Boris Johnson as the new prime minister on 24 July 2019.
"Brexit deal" redirects here. For the trade agreement signed in December 2020, see EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community
Treaty setting out terms of withdrawal
UK withdrawal from the EU (Brexit)
November 2018
October 2019 (revision)
24 January 2020
1 February 2020[1]
Ratification by the European Union (Council of the European Union after consent of the European Parliament), Euratom (Council of the European Union) and the United Kingdom (Parliament of the United Kingdom).
Theresa May
(Prime Minister) (November 2018 draft)- Boris Johnson
(Prime Minister) (October 2019 draft) - Olly Robbins[a]
(Prime Minister's Europe Adviser)[2] (2018 draft) - David Frost
(Prime Minister's Europe Adviser) (2019 draft) - Steve Barclay (DExEU Secretary of State)[b]
Boris Johnson for the UK
Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel for the EU and Euratom
The 24 EU languages
The Parliament of the United Kingdom gave its approval to the agreement on 23 January 2020 and the UK government deposited Britain's instrument of ratification on 29 January 2020.[7][8] The agreement was ratified by the Council of the European Union on 30 January 2020, following the consent of the European Parliament on 29 January 2020. The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the Union took effect on 11 p.m. GMT on 31 January 2020, and at that moment the Withdrawal Agreement entered into force, as per its article 185.
The Agreement covers such matters as money, citizens' rights, border arrangements and dispute resolution. It also contains a transition period and an outline of the future relationship between the UK and the EU. Published on 14 November 2018, it was a result of the Brexit negotiations. The agreement was endorsed by the leaders of the 27 remaining EU countries[9] and the British Government led by Prime Minister Theresa May, but faced opposition in the British parliament, whose approval was necessary for ratification. Approval by the European Parliament would also have been required. On 15 January 2019, the House of Commons rejected the withdrawal agreement by a vote of 432 to 202.[10] The Commons rejected the agreement again on 12 March 2019, on a vote of 391 to 242,[11] and rejected a third time of 29 March 2019 by 344 votes to 286. On 22 October 2019 the revised withdrawal agreement negotiated by Boris Johnson's government cleared the first stage in Parliament, but Johnson paused the legislative process when the accelerated programme for approval failed to achieve the necessary support, and announced his intention to call a general election.[12] On 23 January 2020, Parliament ratified the agreement by passing the Withdrawal Agreement Act; on 29 January 2020, the European Parliament gave its consent to the withdrawal agreement. It was subsequently concluded by the Council of the European Union on 30 January 2020.
The withdrawal agreement, in Part Four,[13] provided for a transition or implementation period[14] until 00:00 Central European Time on 1 January 2021 (11p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on 31 December 2020 in the UK)[15] (referred to as "IP completion day" in British law and state terminology[16][17][18]), during which time the UK remained in the single market, in order to ensure frictionless trade until a long-term relationship was agreed. If no agreement was reached by this date, then the UK would have left the single market without a trade deal on 1 January 2021. Closely connected to the withdrawal agreement is a non-binding political declaration on the future EU–UK relationship.