Negotiations for the UK's withdrawal from the EU
Between 2017 and 2019, representatives of the United Kingdom and the European Union negotiated the terms of Brexit, the UK's planned withdrawal from membership of the EU. These negotiations arose following the decision of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to invoke Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which in turn followed the UK's EU membership referendum on 23 June 2016 in which 52% of votes were in favour of leaving.
The negotiating period began on 29 March 2017, when the United Kingdom served its withdrawal notice under Article 50. The withdrawal was then planned to occur on 29 March 2019, two years after the date of notification as specified in Article 50.
Negotiations formally opened on 19 June 2017 when David Davis, the UK's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, met Michel Barnier, the EU's Chief Negotiator. They began to discuss a withdrawal agreement, which included terms of a transitional period and an outline of the objectives for a future UK–EU relationship. 
In March and April 2019, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May and the European Council agreed to move the date of the UK's departure to 31 October 2019.
May resigned as leader of the ruling Conservative Party on 7 June 2019, and on 23 July, Boris Johnson was elected as her successor. The Johnson ministry and EU agreed to resume regular meetings to discuss the withdrawal agreement on 28 August 2019, but the UK declared a precondition that the Irish backstop must be scrapped, which the EU said it would not accept.
In October 2019, following bilateral talks between Johnson and Leo Varadkar (the Taoiseach, Johnson's Irish counterpart), the UK and EU agreed to a revised deal, which . In the new Northern Ireland protocol, the entire UK would be removed from the EU Customs Union as a single customs territory. Northern Ireland will be included in any future UK trade deals, but it remains an entry point into the EU Customs Union, creating a "de facto" customs border between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Following the 2019 UK general election, which returned a Conservative majority, the Withdrawal Agreement Bill and its programme motion passed its first reading in the House of Commons.
The agreement was ratified by the UK, on 23 January 2020, and by the EU on 29 January 2020, confirming that a withdrawal agreement was in place when, as planned, the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020.
The withdrawal was followed by trade negotiation between the UK and the EU, which resulted in the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), signed on 30 December 2020.
Background.
2015 United Kingdom general election.
In its election manifesto for the United Kingdom general election in May 2015, the Conservative Party promised to call an EU referendum by the end of 2017.
The referendum, held on 23 June 2016, resulted in a 51.9% majority vote for leaving the European Union.
Preparatory work, and intentions.
According to the European Parliament in March 2017, "For the moment, it appears that the two sides have different views on the sequencing and scope of the negotiations, and notably the cross-over between the withdrawal agreement and the structure of future relations, and this divergence itself may be one of the first major challenges to overcome."
UK negotiation.
The Department for Exiting the European Union was originally responsible for overseeing the negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU. This role was later taken over by Olly Robbins, and then Lord David Frost, who reported to the prime minister and Cabinet Office.
Article 50 invocation.
The United Kingdom's proposed principles were set out in the Article 50 notification:
The Prime Minister's formal letter of notification was delivered in Brussels on 29 March 2017. It included withdrawal from the European Atomic Energy Community. The letter recognised that consequences for the UK of leaving the EU included loss of influence over rules that affect the European economy, and UK companies trading within the EU aligning with rules agreed by institutions of which the UK would no longer be part. It proposed agreeing to seven principles for the conduct of the withdrawal negotiation. These were for:
Role of the countries of the United Kingdom.
The constitutional lawyer and retired German Supreme Court judge Udo Di Fabio has stated his opinion that separate negotiations with the EU institutions by Scotland or Northern Ireland would constitute a violation of the Lisbon Treaty, according to which the integrity of a member country is explicitly put under protection.
UK general election.
The start of negotiations was delayed until after the United Kingdom general election, which took place on 8 June 2017. Antonio Tajani, speaking on 20 April, said "the early election should bring stability to the UK, which would have been good for negotiations." In the event, the election led to a hung parliament which reduced the Prime Minister's room for manoeuvre; in particular in respect of the Irish border question due to her dependency on a confidence and supply agreement with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.
EU27 negotiation.
Following the United Kingdom's notification under Article 50, draft guidelines for the negotiations were sent to EU delegations of the 27 other member states (the EU27). The draft, prepared by the president of the European Council, states that the guidelines define the framework for negotiations under Article 50 and set out the overall positions and principles the Union will pursue throughout the negotiation. It states that in the negotiations the Union's overall objective will be to preserve its interests, those of its member states, its citizens and its businesses, and that, in the best interest of both sides, the Union will be constructive throughout and strive to find an agreement. The draft sets out two core principles:
According to the European Parliament, the withdrawal agreement and any possible transitional arrangement(s) should enter into force "well before the elections to the European Parliament of May 2019", and the negotiations should focus on:
On 18 April 2017, a spokesman for Donald Tusk said "We expect to have the Brexit guidelines adopted by the European Council on 29 April and, following that, the Brexit negotiating directives ready on 22 May." On 29 April, the EU27 unanimously endorsed the draft guidelines with no debate.
In a speech to a plenary session of the European Committee of the Regions in Brussels on 22 March 2017, Barnier, as EU Chief Negotiator for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations, said the EU wanted to succeed by reaching a deal with the British, not against them.
On 22 May the European Council, following the approval of the negotiating directives that the EU27 had adopted by strong qualified majority voting, authorised the commission to open Article 50 discussions with the UK, with Michel Barnier appointed as the negotiator. It further confirmed that all agendas, EU position papers, Non-papers and EU text proposals would be released to the public and published online.
Intergovernmental organisation.
Intergovernmental organisations also involved in Brexit uncertainty considerations include the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA expects an agreement to avoid disruption.
Phases.
EU27 guidelines include:
The second phase, covering the post-Brexit relationship between the EU27 and the UK, was to begin "as soon as the European Council decides that sufficient progress has been made in the first phase towards reaching a satisfactory agreement on the arrangements for an orderly withdrawal". The earliest opportunity for this decision was 19 October 2017, at a summit of EU leaders. although at that meeting it was agreed to start negotiations during the December meeting.
Negotiation policy.
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"We recognise how important it is to provide business, the public sector and the public with as much certainty as possible. So ahead of, and throughout the negotiations, we will provide certainty wherever we can. We will provide as much information as we can without undermining the national interest."
Some effects of the British withdrawal could emerge before the UK and the EU27 conclude the Article 50 negotiation, as a result of policies existing when the negotiation begins, or some change of policy later. At the outset policy provisions binding on the EU include principles, aspirations and objectives set out in the TEU (Treaty on European Union) Preamble and Articles.
" Article 3" mentions the promotion of "scientific and technological advance" in a context governed by the Union's "aims to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples", the Union's internal market working "for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and social progress", and the requirement that "The Union shall pursue its objectives by appropriate means commensurate with the competences which are conferred upon it in the Treaties".
" Article 4" mentions "competencies not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the Member States".
Policies mentioned in the Preamble include:
British policy was stated in a white paper published in February 2017: "The United Kingdom's exit from and new partnership with the European Union". In the white paper, British negotiating policy was set out as twelve guiding principles:
# Providing certainty and clarity, including a "Great Repeal Bill" to remove the European Communities Act 1972 from the statute book and convert existing EU law into domestic law.
# Taking control of the British statute book and ending the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the UK.
# Strengthening the Union of all parts of the Kingdom and remaining fully committed to the Belfast Agreement and its successors.
# Working to deliver a practical solution that allows for the maintenance of the Common Travel Area whilst protecting the integrity of the British immigration system, and which protects the strong ties with Ireland.
# Controlling the number of EU nationals coming to the UK.
# Securing the status of EU citizens who are already living in the UK, and that of British nationals in other member states.
# Protecting and enhancing existing workers' rights.
# Forging a new partnership with the EU, including a wide-reaching free trade agreement, and seeking a mutually beneficial new customs agreement with the EU.
# Forging free trade relationships across the world.
# Remaining at the vanguard of science and innovation and seeking continued close collaboration with the UK's European partners.
# Continuing to work with the EU to preserve European security, fight terrorism, and uphold justice across Europe.
# Seeking a phased process of implementation, in which both the UK's and the EU's institutions and the remaining EU member states prepare for the new arrangements.
Pre-negotiation events.
On 28 June 2016, five days after the referendum, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel advised the German parliament of the agreed EU negotiation position: the UK could remain in the European Single Market (ESM) only if the UK accepted the ESM's four conditions (free movement of goods, capital, services and labour). While she expected the UK to remain an important NATO partner, the EU's priority was unity and self-preservation. She warned the UK not to delude itself. The next day, Tusk confirmed that the UK would not be allowed access to the ESM unless they accepted its four freedoms.
In contrast, at her October 2016 party conference, Prime Minister Theresa May emphasised that ending the jurisdiction of EU law and free movement from Europe were priorities. She wished "to give British companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the Single Market – and let European businesses do the same here", but not at the expense of losing sovereignty.
The European Commission said it would not start any negotiation before the UK formally invoked Article 50.
In November 2016, May proposed that Britain and the other EU countries mutually guarantee the residency rights of the 3.3 million EU citizens in Britain and those of the 1.2 million British citizens living on the Continent, in order to exclude their fates being bargained during Brexit negotiations. Despite initial approval from a majority of EU states, May's proposal was blocked by European Council President Tusk and German Chancellor Merkel.
In January 2017, the Prime Minister presented twelve negotiating objectives and confirmed that the British government would not seek permanent single market membership. She also called for an end to ECJ jurisdiction, a new customs agreement excluding the common external tariff and the EU's common commercial policy, an end to free movement of people, co-operation in crime and terrorism, collaboration in areas