On 24 december 2020 the european commission and united kingdom have reached an agreement in principle on the conditions for the future relationship with effect from 1 january 2021.

The draft agreement reached is calledTrade and cooperation agreement between theEUand United Kingdomand, under the same, both parties have agreed to establish an ambitious free trade area of free and quota-free products, on regulatory cooperation mechanisms and the customs service, as well as provisions that ensure equal conditions for a fair and open competition, as part of a broader economic partnership.

The agreement on trade and CooperationEU- The united kingdom covers the following areas: trade in goods and services, digital trade, intellectual property, procurement, aviation and road transport, energy, fisheries, coordination in the field of social security, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, thematic cooperation and participation in union programmes.

Is supported by provisions guaranteeing equal conditions and respect for fundamental rights.

The Agreement will confer rights and obligations bothEUas to the united kingdom, fully respecting their sovereignty and self regulation.

Shall be governed by an institutional framework on the functioning and implementation of the agreement, as well as binding mechanisms for the settlement of disputes and enforcement.

The provisions of the agreement does not govern trade in goods between theEUand northern ireland, which will be covered by theProtocol on Ireland and northern irelandincluded in theAgreement.

Next Steps

On 24 december 2020 has reached an agreement in principle at the level of negotiators. The agreement is in provisional application from 1 january 2021.

Full text of the agreement in spanish [PDF].

For more information on the content of the agreement, see the section offrequently asked questions by the secretariat of state for tradeeither the engineering sectionfrequently asked questions of the european commission.