The Facts

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea is a longstanding international treaty that sets out the basic rules for the use of the sea and marine resources.

The Union Customs Code (UCC) is the rulebook for managing the external borders of the EU’s customs union. Read this fact to find out more.

The Northern Ireland protocol, formally called the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, is the part of the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU that ensures there is no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland as a result of the UK leaving the EU.

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) is the EU’s financial watchdog, responsible for ensuring the sound financial management of the EU.

European integration is the catch-all term for cooperation between European countries, usually but not exclusively referring to EU member states.

Global Britain is the UK government’s mantra for its post-Brexit foreign policy. Read this fact to find out more.

Christine Lagarde is the President of the European Central Bank. She was appointed by EU leaders in November 2019 for an eight-year term.

João Vale de Almeida is the EU’s ambassador to the UK. He was previously the EU’s ambassador to the US and the UN.

This committee is one of 6 UK-EU committees set up by the Withdrawal Agreement to manage the implementation of different parts of that agreement.

To maintain favourable trade terms before the UK stopped benefitting from EU trade agreements in January 2021, the government sought to reach UK-only agreements with many of the same countries.

Charles Michel is the President of the European Council. He is the 3rd person to have held the post after it was created as part of the Lisbon Treaty.

The transition period is the 11-month grace period agreed by the UK and the EU following the UK’s exit from the bloc on 31 January 2020.