@MichelBarnier

                    @vonderleyen @eucopresident

" Charles Michel and I have just signed the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU, opening the way for its ratification by the European Parliament."

@vonderleyen @eucopresident

Questions and Answers on the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020.

The United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union on 31 January 2020 at midnight (Brussels time). It will no longer be a Member State of the European Union. This is a decision that the EU regrets but respects.

The EU and the United Kingdom have conducted intensive negotiations to agree on the terms of the UK's withdrawal and create legal certainty once EU law ceases to apply to the UK. Throughout these negotiations, the European Commission has ensured an inclusive process, with regular meetings of the 27 EU Member States, as well as with the European Parliament and national parliaments. Additional input from EU consultative bodies and stakeholders has helped the European Commission gather evidence in the process. Unprecedented transparency was ensured throughout, as the European Commission published negotiating documents, and all other relevant documents on its website.

The result of the negotiations is the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. It was today formally signed by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will sign the Agreement today in the United Kingdom.

This is one of the last steps in the ratification process of the Withdrawal Agreement, which will be concluded by the Council on 30 January, after the European Parliament's consent on 29 January.

What happens on 1 February 2020?

When the United Kingdom leaves the European Union on 31 January 2020, after full ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, we will enter into the transition period. This time-limited period was agreed as part of the Withdrawal Agreement and will last until at least 31 December 2020. Until then, it will be business as usual for citizens, consumers, businesses, investors, students and researchers in both the EU and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom will no longer be represented in the EU institutions, agencies, bodies and offices but EU law will still apply in the United Kingdom until the end of the transition period.

The EU and the United Kingdom will use these months to agree on a new and fair partnership for the future, based on the Political Declaration agreed between the EU and the United Kingdom in October 2019.

The Commission will adopt comprehensive draft negotiating directives on 3 February. It will then be for the General Affairs Council to adopt this mandate. Formal negotiations with the United Kingdom can then begin.

As for the structure of the negotiations, this will be agreed between the EU and the United Kingdom.

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/QANDA_20_104

A SUIVRE..!