Briefing - Implementation of the EU-UK TCA: Partnership Council, Trade Partnership Committee and specialised committees, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, impact of the UK's accession to the PEM Convention, and mutual recognition of standards and qualifications - 04-04-2025
Following the United Kingdom's referendum on its European Union membership, in June 2016, and the UK's decision to leave the EU, a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was signed between the EU and the UK, in 2020. The TCA, in force since 2021, provides the framework for relations between the EU and the UK. In 2025, the European Parliament will adopt – as it did in 2023 – a report on the implementation of the TCA, this time covering the period between January and December 2024. The report will follow the European Commission's presentation of its own implementation reports of 2024 and 2025. In August 2023, the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) published a European Implementation Assessment (EIA) study on 'The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement two years on: Unpacking early evidence', analysing the early outcomes and benefits, risks and challenges in the TCA's implementation. The EIA supported the joint implementation report on the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement by the Committees on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and on International Trade (INTA) (2022/2188(INI)). Following the approval of the joint request from AFET and INTA to draft a second report evaluating the implementation of the EU-UK TCA (2024/2108(INI)), this briefing draws on and complements the findings of the EIA published in 2023. It provides an update of key developments, specifically on the work of the Partnership Council, the Trade Partnership Committee and specialised committees, EU-UK agri-food trade and a potential sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, the UK's possible accession to the PEM Convention, and mutual recognition of standards and qualifications. The briefing notes that, while the institutional structures established under the TCA are functioning and technical progress has been achieved, implementation remains uneven. Persistent tensions have been present in areas such as fisheries, SPS measures, rules of origin, labour mobility, and mutual recognition of qualifications. In the context of the upcoming review of the TCA in 2026, some committees have engaged in forward-looking discussions.
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP
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