Progress of the Brexit Negotiations

Abstract

On December 15 of last year, the European Council of the 27 remaining Member States (EU-27 hereinafter) concluded that sufficient progress had been made in the first phase of the Brexit negotiations that started in June 2017. The first phase dealt with important matters regarding the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union per se, although the UK wanted to reduce the uncertainty stemming from the post-Brexit relationship by conducting parallel discussions on it. The European Council also decided to open the second phase of negotiations which deal with, among other subjects, the future relationship and a possible transition period between the termination of the UK’s EU membership, scheduled for March 29 next year, and the beginning of a future relationship.