Fact Sheets on the European Union
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The United Kingdom

This fact sheet explains the evolving relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom (UK) since Brexit, outlining the legal framework governing these relations. It presents key political and institutional developments including the UK-EU Summit of 19 May 2025, which established a new strategic partnership following the ‘reset’ in EU-UK relations after the 2024 UK general election, and the role of the European Parliament and the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly in fostering dialogue.

Legal basis

  • Treaty on European Union: Article 50 is the primary legal basis under which the EU negotiated the UK’s withdrawal. It sets out the procedure for a Member State to leave the European Union and for negotiating and concluding a withdrawal agreement.
  • The Withdrawal Agreement, which entered into force on 31 January 2020 governs the terms of the UK’s withdrawal. It is overseen by the Joint Committee, which is co-chaired by the EU and the UK, and covers citizens’ rights, separation provisions, the transition period, financial provisions and the governance framework. The Withdrawal Agreement includes the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland which establishes the legal arrangements designed to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland while protecting the integrity of the EU single market, as well as protocols relating to Cyprus and Gibraltar. By adopting Council Decision (EU) 2020/135, the Council of the EU concluded the Withdrawal Agreement on behalf of the EU and provided the institutional basis for its implementation.
  • The Windsor Framework, adopted through Joint Committee Decision 1/2023, sets out legally binding arrangements for the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. It adjusts how the Protocol is implemented and encompasses a set of joint solutions to address challenges faced by citizens and businesses in Northern Ireland while remaining within the legal framework of the Withdrawal Agreement and preserving the integrity of the EU and UK internal markets.
  • The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), concluded separately from the Withdrawal Agreement, governs the broader post-Brexit relationship between the EU and the UK from 1 January 2021 onwards. It sets out detailed provisions on trade in goods and services, digital commerce, transport, energy, fisheries, law enforcement cooperation, and other areas. It also includes mechanisms to ensure a level playing field and introduces governance structures, including the EU-UK Partnership Council, to oversee and facilitate cooperation and dispute resolution. Article 11 provides the basis for the establishment of the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly. The Council of the EU approved its conclusion on behalf of the EU in Council Decision (EU) 2021/689, which set out arrangements for the EU’s participation in the TCA’s governance bodies, including the Partnership Council.

The context of EU-UK relations

The UK joined the European Economic Community – which would later become the European Union (EU) – in 1973. For decades, it maintained a complex but significant relationship with the bloc as one of its members. However, in June 2016, the UK held a referendum on its EU membership. A narrow majority of voters, 51.9%, voted in favour of leaving. This marked the beginning of a lengthy and often contentious political process that became known as ‘Brexit’. The UK formally left the EU on 31 January 2020.

Objectives of EU-UK cooperation

The objective of EU-UK cooperation is to govern the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and the subsequent post-Brexit relationship, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement and the TCA. These agreements provide a framework for cooperation in areas of shared interest, set out the arrangements for the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, and facilitate institutional dialogue through governance bodies such as the Partnership Council and the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.

Achievements

A. Developments in EU-UK relations

Despite the formal agreements, post-Brexit relations were strained in the early years. A major source of friction was the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. A turning point came in February 2023 with the agreement of the Windsor Framework, which responded to the challenges that had emerged in the implementation of the Protocol. It helped stabilise relations and marked a return to constructive dialogue.

In 2024, the UK general election brought a Labour government to power, ushering in a new strategic direction for the UK’s relations with the EU. The management of EU-UK relations was centralised within the UK Cabinet Office, with Nick Thomas-Symonds appointed Minister for EU Relations. While ruling out any return to the EU’s single market, customs union or free movement, the UK Government emphasised its commitment to building a long-term strategic partnership with the EU. This led to the first EU-UK summit in London on 19 May 2025, at which a new strategic partnership was established. Three documents were officially adopted: an EU-UK Summit Joint Statement, a Common Understanding on a renewed EU-UK agenda, and a Security and Defence Partnership (SDP). Both parties also agreed to hold an annual summit. At the 2025 summit, the EU and the UK agreed to work towards a ‘balanced’ youth experience scheme, the association of the UK to the Erasmus+ programme, a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement (SPS) and an agreement linking their emissions trading systems (ETS).

A second EU-UK summit is anticipated in 2026 to follow up on the May 2025 summit, with the aim of concluding ongoing negotiations on the youth experience scheme, the SPS agreement and the ETS agreement. The EU and the UK have also concluded exploratory talks on UK participation in the EU internal electricity market.

In December 2025, it was announced that UK would associate to Erasmus+ for the 2027-28 academic year, with further participation to be negotiated. Other shared priority areas include maritime security and safety, development cooperation, internal security and judicial cooperation, financial and military support to Ukraine, and fighting irregular migration. Enhanced engagement on security and multilateral cooperation has been largely driven by geopolitical pressures, particularly Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and shifts in the broader security landscape.

B. The EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly

Constituted in 2021, the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly (PPA) is an interparliamentary body established under the TCA. The PPA is the most direct body for parliamentary scrutiny of the EU-UK relationship. It serves as a forum for parliamentarians to exchange views on EU-UK relations with senior EU and UK officials. It also receives updates from the Partnership Council, the main joint EU-UK body overseeing the implementation of the TCA, and issues recommendations addressed to the Partnership Council to strengthen EU-UK cooperation. The PPA is composed of 70 members: 35 from the UK Parliament (House of Commons and House of Lords) and 35 Members of the European Parliament (from Parliament’s Delegation to the PPA). It meets twice a year, hosted on an alternating basis by the European Parliament in one of its usual places of work, and the UK Parliament.

The PPA has met seven times, with the most recent assembly taking place on 16-17 March 2026 in Brussels. Parliamentarians discussed the current state of play within the Partnership Council, economic security, the local and regional dimensions of the relationship, as well as security and defence cooperation. In its recommendation, the PPA welcomed progress in negotiations between the EU and the UK and called on both parties to include representation of the PPA in future EU-UK summits. The next assembly is expected to take place in London on 16-17 November 2026.

Role of the European Parliament

The European Parliament closely monitors the implementation of the EU-UK agreements. On 27 November 2025, it adopted a resolution on the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The resolution highlights that the EU and the UK should use the renewed political momentum following the 2025 summit to build a closer, more structured partnership, based on the full implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, Windsor Framework and TCA, with a particular focus on security and defence, trade facilitation, energy, and regulatory cooperation. This is Parliament’s second evaluation of the implementation of the TCA since its entry into force in May 2021.

In February 2026, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola travelled to London and encouraged the deepening of EU-UK ties particularly in the areas of security and defence, economic security, trade, customs, research, migration and energy.

This fact sheet is prepared by the European Parliament’s Europe Unit: Enlargement, Western Europe and Northern Cooperation. For more information on the PPA, please visit the website of the European Parliament’s Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.

 

Clotilde Chantal Claudie Sebag