Implementing the Withdrawal Agreement requires action at both EU and Member State level.
Any agreement is only as good as it is implemented effectively. Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement entails the adoption of legal acts by the European Union, its Member States and the United Kingdom, as well as implementation by adopting policies and measures related to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom. This also includes the responsibility to monitor the implementation by both Parties and to ensure compliance.
Some areas will be particularly work-intensive as of 1 January 2021, namely:
- continuing the work of the Joint Committee to oversee the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement. It is to be composed of representatives from, and co-chaired by, the EU and the United Kingdom.
- implementing the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, which requires unprecedented arrangements in a number of areas, in particular in relation with customs, and veterinary and phytosanitary measures.
- implementing the provisions on Citizens’ Rights, which also require close monitoring by the European Commission.
- implementing the financial settlement, which ensures that the United Kingdom and the EU will honour all financial obligations undertaken while the United Kingdom was a member of the European Union.
Letter from Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič to David Frost