Access to markets - Business Durham

BREXIT - Local support and guidance to businesses

In these uncertain economic times businesses need not feel alone, there are many sources of information and support to guide them whether it's Brexit or No Deal.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership and partners have developed a Brexit toolkit comprising of:

To find out more click here

The Withdrawal Agreement

The United Kingdom and the European Union negotiating teams have reached agreement in principle on the Withdrawal Agreement. The terms of the UK’s departure on 29 March 2019 have been established.

You can read a Withdrawal Agreement explainer and Technical Explanatory note on Articles 6-8 on the Northern Ireland Protocol here.

In essence, the Withdrawal Agreement provides for:

a deal on citizens’ rights that protects the rights of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU;
separation provisions that wind down certain arrangements, for example cooperation on civil court cases still ongoing at the end of the implementation period;
a time-limited implementation period that provides certainty to businesses and individuals and ensures they only have to adjust to one set of changes in line with the future relationship with the EU;
arrangements on the financial settlement that represent a fair settlement of the UK’s rights and obligations as a departing Member State;
governance arrangements that provide legal certainty and clarity to citizens, businesses and organisations and respect the autonomy and integrity of both the UK’s and the EU’s legal orders;
the unique circumstances in Northern Ireland, including the continuation of the Common Travel Area arrangements, the ongoing protection of rights of individuals in Northern Ireland, and guarantees that there will be no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland or a splitting of the UK customs territory
maintaining the UK’s international commitments in respect of the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs), protecting the interests of Cypriots living and working in the SBAs and ensuring the continued effective operation of the SBAs for military purposes; and a Protocol on Gibraltar that address issues of importance to citizens and businesses in Spain and Gibraltar

The draft agreement (14th November 2018) outlining progress on the UK’s exit from, and future relationship with, the European Union, can be found here.