On 30 December 2020 the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement was signed by the EU leaders and by the UK Prime Minister. The deal was also approved by the UK Parliament which was recalled for the purpose of debating and voting on the agreement. The European Parliament has commenced its scrutiny of the agreement and is expected to ratify the deal in January 2021.

The Brexit transition period ends on 31 December 2020 and the agreement will take effect provisionally from 1 January 2021.

Partnership Council

The agreement will be regulated by a partnership council that will be under the joint supervision of a UK government minister and a European Commissioner. The partnership council is empowered to take decisions that are binding on both the UK and EU. The parties to the agreement may choose if they wish for the sessions of the partnership council to be confidential. The council will have its own secretariat based in both London and Brussels.

Committees

The agreement sets up certain specialised committees including the Trade Partnership Committee; the Trade Specialised Committee on Goods; the Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin; the Trade Specialised Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade; the Trade Specialised Committee on Services, Investment and Digital Trade; and the Trade Specialised Committee on Intellectual Property. Other committees will deal with areas such as energy, aviation and social security coordination.

Working Groups

Working groups have been established in relation to organic products; motor vehicles and parts; medicinal products; and social security coordination. The working groups are to assist the committees by performing preparatory work and carrying out any tasks assigned to them by the committees. They are to include representatives of the EU and UK.

Parliamentary Cooperation

The European Parliament and the UK Parliament may establish a Parliamentary Partnership Assembly consisting of members of both parliaments to serve as a forum for the exchange of views on the partnership.

Dispute Resolution

If one of the parties considers that the other party is in breach of an obligation under the agreement or any supplementary agreement, the parties will try to resolve the issue by holding consultations to reach a mutually agreed solution. The consultations must be held within deadlines set out in the agreement.

The complaining party may ask for an arbitration tribunal to be set up subject to certain conditions. The arbitration tribunal will be composed of three arbitrators to be chosen by the parties. Where the parties cannot agree on the arbitrators there are rules to establish the appointment of the tribunal. The arbitration tribunal should submit an interim report to the parties within 100 days after its establishment, on which the parties may comment on the report. The final report should normally be delivered by the arbitration tribunal within 130 days of its establishment.

Sectors covered

The agreement contains provisions to ensure a level playing field in trade and setting out provisions on state aid. UK businesses can continue to sell goods to the EU market without the imposition of tariffs or quotas although additional certification and testing will be required in relation to standards in the UK and EU.

The agreement also covers technical aspects in a number of sectors including data flows between the UK and EU; aviation and travel; logistics and road haulage; fishing rights; chemicals; pharmaceuticals; automobiles; manufacturing; retail; and defence. A separate process is to be followed to reach agreement on the access of financial services to EU markets.