FEA-Mitteilung zum Brexit

The negotiators of the European Commission and the United Kingdom have reached a deal on the terms of the Article 50 Withdrawal Agreement… a 585-page long document.

This is very good signal, but it is not the end of the process.
It will be up to the European Council (Article 50) to endorse the Withdrawal Agreement and the joint political declaration on the framework of the future relationship. Once the Withdrawal Agreement is endorsed by the European Council (Article 50), and before it can enter into force, it needs to be ratified by the EU and the UK.

The EU and UK negotiators will continue their work on the political declaration on the framework for the future relationship based on the outline released yesterday.
Concerning goods, the future EU-UK relationship would be:
· Comprehensive arrangements creating a free trade area combining deep regulatory and customs cooperation, underpinned by provisions ensuring a level playing field for open and fair competition as described below.
· Zero tariffs, no fees, charges or quantitative restrictions across all goods sectors, with ambitious customs arrangements that build on the single customs territory provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement, respecting the Parties’ legal orders.
· Extent of the United Kingdom’s commitments on customs and regulatory cooperation, including with regard to alignment of rules, to be taken into account in the application of checks and controls at the border.
· In this context, recalling the Union's and the United Kingdom's intention to replace the backstop solution on Northern Ireland by a subsequent agreement that establishes alternative arrangements for ensuring the absence of a hard border on the island of Ireland on a permanent footing.

The future relationship between the EU and the UK will only be negotiated once the UK becomes a third country, i.e. outside of the EU, after 29 March 2019.

The transition period would last until 31 December 2020. The ADD, which is explicitly referred into the draft agreement, will continue to apply in the UK during this transition period.