Brexit

Brexit

On 31 January 2020 (Exit Day), the UK ceased to be an EU Member State and entered an implementation period, during which it continued to be subject to EU law. Transitional provisions in the UK legislation implementing the Withdrawal Agreement, namely the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (EU(WA)A 2020) amended the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018) so that EU law continued to take effect in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement during that time. For further information, see Practice Note: Brexit—introduction to the Withdrawal Agreement.

Exit day was key in terms of being the date the UK ceased to be an EU Member State, but in terms of the legal impact, IP completion day (11 pm on 31 December 2020) was the date that the majority of key domestic legal changes associated with Brexit began to take effect.

On 24 December 2020, the European Commission and UK government announced an agreement in principle on the legal terms of the UK-EU relationship beyond IP completion day. Announced just one week before IP completion day, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), and associated

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