 Map of the United Kingdom within the European Union | |
| Type | Withdrawal agreement Transitional agreement Trade agreement |
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| Condition | Ratification by the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, and the Parliament of the United Kingdom. |
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| Full text | |
 Draft Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union at Wikisource | |
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| Part of a series of articles on |
| Brexit |
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Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union Glossary of terms |
Brexit negotiations in 2019 started in August, after having originally concluded in November 2018 with the release of the withdrawal agreement. Negotiations took place between the United Kingdom and the European Union during 2017 and 2018 for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union following the referendum held on 23 June 2016.
In March 2019, UK prime minister Theresa May and EU leaders negotiated a fortnight's delay for the Parliament of the United Kingdom to ratify the Brexit withdrawal agreement,[1] moving the date from 29 March 2019 to 12 April 2019. On 10 April 2019, a further half-year extension was agreed between the UK and the EU27 at the EU summit, until 31 October 2019.[2]
At the time of the second extension, the EU position was that the negotiation of terms for withdrawal ended in November 2018 and that the extension was to give the UK Parliament more time to consider the agreement.[3] During 2019, the UK Parliament debated whether to accept the Theresa May government's negotiated settlement, to leave the EU without an agreement, or to abandon Brexit.
In July, the newly assembled Boris Johnson ministry declared its intention to re-open negotiations on the withdrawal agreement, with the Irish backstop removed as a pre-condition. UK and EU negotiators met for the first time on 28 August and agreed meetings would "continue twice a week".[4] Fresh proposals were released by the Johnson ministry in October, which the EU dismissed as unworkable.[5][6] In October 2019, following bilateral talks between Johnson and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar,[7] the UK and EU agreed to a revised deal, which replaced the backstop.[8][9][10]
The Benn Act, passed by the UK Parliament in September, required the prime minister to seek a further extension if by 19 October, Parliament had not given its consent to either a deal, in a "meaningful vote", or a no-deal Brexit.[11] On 28 October 2019, the departure date was moved back to 2020.[12] Following the 2019 UK general election, which resulted in a landslide victory for Boris Johnson's Conservative Party, the withdrawal agreement was ratified by the UK Parliament on 23 January 2020, and the European Parliament gave its consent to the agreement on 29 January 2020, before Exit Day, on 31 January 2020.
- ^ "Brexit pushed back by at least two weeks". 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "EU Leaders Agree to Delay Brexit Deadline to October 31". Politico Europe. 11 April 2019. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ "Brexit: UK and EU agree delay to 31 October". 11 April 2019. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ Heather Stewart, Severin Carrell and Jennifer Rankin (29 August 2019). "Time to step up tempo of Brexit talks, says bullish Boris Johnson". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ Peter Walker (26 July 2019). "UK on course for no-deal Brexit as Johnson rejects EU agreement". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ "EU leaders criticise UK Brexit proposals". BBC. 9 October 2019. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- ^ "Brexit: Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar 'can see pathway to a deal'". BBC News. 10 October 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ "Brexit: What is in Boris Johnson's new deal with the EU?". BBC News. 21 October 2019. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ "Brexit: EU and UK reach deal but DUP refuses support". BBC News. 17 October 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ Parker, George; Brunsden, Jim (11 October 2019). "How Boris Johnson moved to break the Brexit deadlock". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ "European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019". Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ Brexit: Johnson agrees to Brexit extension – but urges election Archived 28 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine BBC News 28 October 2019