So where do we go from here? Your guide to life after 31 January
Theukwillc ease to be a member state of the EU as of 11pm today. But for a short while at least, many people are unlikely to notice the difference. The UK and EU enter the “transition period” – an 11-month window in which an intense round of negotiations will take place, with the aim of hammering out an agreement by 31 December.
During that time, the UK will remain in the single market and customs union, but will have no voting rights within the EU. There will be no British MEPS in the European Parliament. The UK will not be attending any EU summits held in 2020. Practical matters, like taking a flight to a European city, or buying and selling goods, will continue during the transition period as they did before. But that could all change by the end of the year.
What stays the same?
● Travelling to and from the EU.
● Freedom of movement.
● Trade between the UK and EU.
What happens after 31 December?
That all depends on the complex series of negotiations that will soon begin. Make no mistake, this will not be an easy task. There is no precedent for a comprehensive international trade agreement being reached in such a short timeframe.
There is an option to extend the transition period, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has indicated his government has no plans to use it. If an extension is not agreed by the end of June, the 31 December deadline will become fixed.
What needs to be negotiated?
● Trade. The UK and EU have both said they want a comprehensive free trade agreement signed off before 31 December. Neither side wants to see tariffs introduced on the flow of goods, but reaching an agreement on what such a deal looks like could be difficult.
● Law enforcement.
● Fishing. Who gets access to UK waters? And how often?
● Aviation. There have already been warnings that flights could be grounded if a deal on aviation is not reached by the end of 2020.
● Finance. The UK’S financial sector depends on interconnection with Europe, and vice versa. Could some issues be agreed by 31 December at the expense of others? In theory, yes. The EU has already indicated as such, but the UK government is aiming to have everything wrapped up by the end of the year. Whether that is achievable is open to debate.
“The negotiations will open on all the chapters of the negotiating mandate,” an EU official said last week.
“But then at some point a decision might have to be taken about what we go ahead with before the end of the year and what continues beyond the end of the year.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman has insisted the government believes it will be possible to secure a good free trade agreement within the 11-month deadline for a transition period after the UK formally leaves the EU on 31 January.