Clifford Chance

27 December 2020

Relieved? UK and EU agree post-Brexit deal

On 24 December 2020, after roller-coaster negotiations, the United Kingdom and the European Union announced they had agreed a post-Brexit "EU-UK Trade and Cooperation" Agreement.

On 1 January 2021, the transition period ends, and the UK leaves the EU Single Market and the Customs Union. The EU-UK Agreement provides for zero tariffs and quotas. It represents a fundamental shift in the EU-UK relationship with substantially reduced market access but greater UK autonomy. This briefing examines what it covers, what it doesn't, and what happens next.

The Agreement runs to 1,246 pages and the EU plans to bring it into provisional application on 1 January 2021 before being fully ratified. The UK plans to fully ratify the Agreement by the end of 2020.

18 November 2020

The Post-Brexit Patchwork: EU market access rules for UK firms

On 31 December 2020, at the end of the Brexit transition period, UK firms will lose the passporting rights on which they currently rely to provide financial services in other EU jurisdictions. Instead, UK firms will need to consider the rules of each EU Member State to determine whether, and the extent to which, they will be able to continue providing services to clients in that jurisdiction. 

This step change in UK firms’ market access rights arises as a result of the UK leaving the EU single market. While the existing EU financial services regulatory framework includes numerous third-country regimes based on equivalence, none come close to replicating single market membership. Instead, UK firms will need to navigate a patchwork of national licensing regimes and face restrictions on cross-border business and many other impediments compared with the market access rights that an EU firm would have.

19 October 2020

The European Commission 2019 - 2024

On 27 November 2019, The European Parliament confirmed the new class of European Commissioners with 461 votes in favour, 157 against and 89 abstentions. The new President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and her team of European Commissioners took office on 1 December 2019 and will drive the EU’s agenda for the next five years. President Von der Leyen, the former German defence minister, says that it will be a “geopolitical Commission,” signalling an intention to position Europe as a heavyweight on the world stage.

Here Clifford Chance experts, including Of Counsel Michel Petite who worked for EU institutions for 27 years and was legal adviser to three Commission Presidents, assess the priorities for the von der Leyen Commission.

13 October 2020

Brexit, Law and Jurisdiction: Where will we be after transition?

True Brexit is nearly upon us, with the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020. What will this mean for the law and jurisdiction clauses in international contracts entered into after that date?

In most cases, no fundamental change will be required, but the UK’s accession to the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements may make exclusive jurisdiction provisions more attractive for some parties.