The Gibraltar Protocol will apply until the end of the transition period, with the exception of the provisions on citizens` rights, which will continue to exist beyond. The Protocol sets out the preparation for the application of the part of the VA relating to citizens` rights and allows EU law to apply to Gibraltar airport if the UK and Spain reach an agreement on it; establishes cooperation between Spain and the United Kingdom in the fields of taxation, environmental protection and fisheries, as well as in the fields of police and customs. The Memoranda of Understanding between the United Kingdom and Spain facilitate cooperation between the competent authorities of Gibraltar and Spain at the operational level, including through the establishment of joint committees on citizens` rights, environment, police, customs and tobacco. EU law is currently being transposed into national law through implementing legislation. The main implementing legislation, section 2 of the European Communities Act 1972 (ECA), aggressively implements EU law. This means that if an EU law changes and the UK is not required to transpose it into national law first, it will still have to be automatically enforced by UK courts. In accordance with the principle of the primacy of EU law, EU law also prevails where national law is incompatible with EU law. (a) all such rights, powers, responsibilities, obligations and limitations arising from time to time from or arising out of the Withdrawal Agreement; and (b) all remedies and procedures provided from time to time in or under the Withdrawal Agreement without any other legal effect being obtained or exercised in the United Kingdom. All rights, powers, responsibilities, obligations and limitations created or arising from time to time by or under the Treaties and all remedies and procedures provided from time to time in or under the Treaties without further legal effect or exercise in the United Kingdom shall be recognised and available by law; and be enforced, authorized and monitored accordingly; and the expression “enforceable Community law” and similar expressions shall be understood as referring to a law to which this Subdivision applies.

The UK has chosen to introduce a system requiring EU citizens to apply for a new residency status known as “established status” or “pre-established status”. It is still unclear whether each of the EU27 will exercise its discretion under the Withdrawal Agreement to require UK residents to apply for new residency status. Some EU food and farming regulations will continue to apply to IRBs during the safety net period. Existing controls on animals and animal products transporting from the UK to NIs need to be extended. The Political Declaration states that provisions should be introduced to eliminate sanitary and phytosanitary barriers to trade (animal and plant health), building on and beyond WTO agreements. The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is the only way to protect the Good Friday Agreement (Belfast) and preserve peace and stability, while avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland and preserving the integrity of the EU`s single market. The EU and the UK have agreed on the protocol. We are also obliged to implement it together. Unilateral decisions and violations of international law by the United Kingdom defeat its purpose and undermine trust between us. The UK must implement them properly if we are to achieve our targets. That is why we are taking legal action today. I hope that the collaborative, pragmatic and constructive spirit that has prevailed in our work so far on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement will enable us to resolve these issues in the Joint Committee without resorting to other legal means.

A key element of the Withdrawal Agreement is that there should be a “transition or implementation phase” under Article 126. This period begins with the UK`s withdrawal from the EU and ends by default on 31 December 2020. However, the UK and the EU can jointly agree to extend this period once for a further period of “up to two years” under Article 132. The United Kingdom will be able to conclude trade agreements with third countries; However, the customs union would significantly limit the UK`s ability to have significantly different trading relationships with them, particularly when it comes to goods. The UK would have more flexibility to offer different conditions for trade in services and areas such as government procurement. The current EU VAT regime applies to goods dispatched or transported from the UK to an EU Member State, or vice versa, if the dispatch or transport started before the end of the transition period and ended thereafter. Unless otherwise provided for in the Future Relationship Agreement, goods exported from the UK to the EU and vice versa after the end of the transition will be subject to VAT and customs formalities. EU excise duty arrangements on fuel, alcohol and tobacco products are subject to similar provisions. After the transfer, exports of excise goods from the UK to the EU will be subject to customs formalities before they can be brought into the EU. In order to meet these requirements, the United Kingdom may have access to relevant networks and information systems and databases.

This chapter provides a critical analysis of the entire EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement. At the heart of the discussion is the post-standstill “transition period”, during which the UK was nevertheless treated as if it were still a member state for 11 months after formally leaving the EU for various purposes. At the end of this transition period, a new set of rules was activated as part of the Withdrawal Agreement, for example to manage the UK`s outstanding obligations to EU rules, processes and institutions; and to calculate the UK`s Financial Regulation vis-à-vis the EU (the “Divorce Act”). This chapter also examines the rules of governance, interpretation, dispute settlement and internal legal effects of the Withdrawal Agreement. Following the first round of withdrawal negotiations, the UK and the EU set out an agreed approach to the Financial Regulation in the December 2017 Joint Report. The comparison includes the financial obligations that will be covered, the method of calculation of the United Kingdom`s share and the payment schedule. The Withdrawal Agreement transforms the approach set out in this report into a legal text and provides for further negotiations on the UK`s contributions to the EU budget if the transition period is extended. An extension would have no impact on the Financial Regulation, which would continue as agreed. The Withdrawal Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom sets out the conditions for an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, in accordance with Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. However, there is one part of the ECA whose effect will not be maintained beyond the withdrawal date: Article 2(3).

This was the legal basis for the UK to meet its financial obligations under the EU treaties. Instead, financial obligations are dealt with in a separate part of the CMA in accordance with clause 20. If the EP approves the agreement by a simple majority, it must be adopted by a superqualified majority of the European Council of the remaining 27 member states (20 of the other EU27 representing 65% of the EU27 population) for it to be “concluded” (ratified) by the EU. The provisions on citizens` rights were endorsed by the UK and the EU in the draft Withdrawal Agreement of March 2018. There are no substantive amendments or additions, with the exception of the provisions relating to the rights of nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. This note takes an in-depth look at the withdrawal agreement negotiated between the EU and the UK and concluded on 14 November 2018. It was endorsed by EU heads of state and government at an extraordinary summit of the European Council on 25 November, and the British Prime Minister promoted it in the UK Parliament and across the country. The agreement has been discussed in detail several times in Parliament and voted on three times. But the House of Commons did not approve it. A second extension of Article 50 lasted until the 31st on the day of withdrawal. October 2019, but the UK again faces the possibility of leaving the EU without a deal if that or any other deal is not ratified by the UK and the EU.