Clifford Chance

The future UK-EU relationship: Re-examining the EEA and other options

23 June 2017

The uncertain outcome of the UK election on 8 June has reopened the question of what the UK's future relationship with the EU should be.

Whilst few doubt that the UK will actually leave the EU, many are asking whether a 'soft' Brexit is now more likely, and whether the UK may remain, in the short or longer term, a member of the European Economic Area which links Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein to the EU's single market, but not its customs union.

This briefing re-examines the UK's options for its relationship with the EU following the UK's withdrawal, including the EEA agreement, bilateral agreements on the Swiss model, a customs union agreement, a Free Trade Agreement and a "no-deal" scenario of trading on WTO terms.

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