As of 1 January, the UK and EU began trading on the basis of a Trade Cooperation Agreement that was agreed by both sides on 24 December. The agreement was in force provisionally whilst the EU completed the final stages of its ratification procedure. This included a vote to approve it by the European Parliament on 28 April, and a final decision by the EU Council on 29 April. The agreement entered fully into force on 1 May 2021.
This move to trading and engaging with the EU on the basis of the new agreement has meant changes in a number of areas for businesses and citizens.
It is important to follow guidance from official and reputable sources about what these changes mean and the different actions you may need to take. This blog post provides links to reliable and official information from the UK, Wales and the EU to help people in Wales get the information they may need.
We will update this post with any additional useful links as they become available.
UK Government
- gov.uk/transition is the UK Government’s main page for information and guidance for businesses and citizens on the new rules that apply to matters like travel and doing business with the EU. It includes a Brexit Checker tool which, upon completion, provides a personalised list of actions for individuals and/or businesses.
- The Border Operating Model outlines the process for moving goods between GB and the EU now the transition period has ended. A separate Case Studies document has also been created to represent end-to-end scenarios for businesses importing and exporting goods between GB and the EU.
- The Food Standards Agency provides information for businesses who trade in food or animal feed.
- UK Government guidance on trading and moving goods in and out of Northern Ireland
- The UK and EU have agreed a Trade and Cooperation Agreement and two associated agreements - one on security and another on nuclear cooperation. The UK Government has published a summary explainer which sets out the core provisions of the Agreements.
Welsh Government
- The Preparing Wales webpage acts as the Welsh Government’s single source of information about the actions for businesses, citizens and other organisations in Wales. The website also sign-posts readers to other Welsh Government and UK Government guidance, where they apply in Wales.
- The Business Wales EU Transition Portal aims to offer a range of support mechanisms to businesses and includes the ‘Business Online Support Service’, a telephone advice line for businesses, finance locators, and a number of sector specific online resources.
- The End of Transition Action Plan describes actions taken by the Welsh Government to prepare for the end of the transition period, both independently and jointly with the UK Government.
- The previous Welsh Government published a paper that examines the implications of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement for citizens, businesses and communities in Wales. An annex document was also published which examines in greater detail the implications for businesses.
European Union
- The European Commission’s Consequences for public administrations, businesses and citizens of the EU webpage includes EU contingency measures and a sector-by-sector overview of the main areas where changes have occurred.
- The European Commission’s Forging a new partnership is the EU’s main webpage for UK-EU. It details everything that has been agreed between the two since the UK’s 2016 decision to leave the EU, including the new Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The EU Commission has produced a Questions & Answers document summarising its provisions.
- Parts of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement will remain in force. Among other areas, the Withdrawal Agreement finalised in October 2019, covers citizens’ rights and the Ireland-Northern Ireland Protocol.
- The EU Commission’s Press Corner lists all EU press releases as they are issued (across all topics) and includes a search function.
Other
The organisations below provide reliable sources of additional analysis on UK-EU relations:
- House of Commons Library
- House of Lords Library
- European Parliamentary Research Service
- Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICE)
- Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service (RaISe)
- UK In A Changing Europe
- Institute for Government
- Brexit Civil Society Alliance
- EU Relations Law
- Centre for European Reform
Article by Nia Moss, Sara Moran and Rhun Davies, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
