Withdrawal Agreement
The treaty setting out the detailed terms on which the UK would depart from the European Union and covering such matters as money, citizens’ rights, and dispute resolution (see Brexit). It is accompanied by the Political Declaration, a document providing an intended framework for the continuing relationship between the two parties after Brexit. The Declaration is not legally binding.

A draft version of the Agreement was approved by the UK government and the other EU countries in November 2018; however, this was repeatedly rejected by Parliament, and the deal finally agreed and passed into UK law via the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 has significant differences from its predecessor. Most importantly, the “Irish Backstop” mechanism in the original Agreement, which was designed to ensure an open frontier between Northern Ireland and the Republic, was replaced by the Northern Ireland Protocol, a very different means to the same end. Also, a number of commitments were moved from the Agreement itself to the Political Declaration. For example, the original Agreement contained a statement that both parties committed themselves to a “level playing field” with regard to tax, the environment, social policy, state aid, and competition. Moving these commitments to the Declaration meant that they were removed from the strictly legal sphere into the realm of aspirational politics.

The Withdrawal Agreement also provided for an implementation period that ran from 31 January 2020, the day the UK legally left the EU, until 31 December 2020.

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