HomeInsightsGovernment and European Commission publish Addendum to the Terms of Reference on the UK-EU Future Relationship Negotiations

Contact

In line with the Terms of Reference agreed on 28 February 2020, and taking into account the current state of the negotiations after four rounds, the parties have established a forward process in order to intensify the talks and to create the most conducive conditions for concluding and ratifying a deal before the end of 2020:

  1. negotiating rounds will take place in July, August and in September, unless agreed otherwise between the parties. Subject to any constraints required by the relevant national health recommendations, negotiating groups will meet physically, alternately in Brussels and London, in full, in the specialised sessions and in more restricted formats; and
  2. to accompany and complement the negotiating rounds, and in line with institutional and transparency arrangements in place on each side, the Chief Negotiators from both sides and their teams will meet as necessary in a more restricted format to ensure progress in the negotiations. Specialised sessions may also work under their authority on issues of particular difficulty in the negotiations to ensure that parallel progress is achieved across all work streams.

The parties agreed that in the first instance the following meetings, which may be modified or complemented as necessary, would take place in July and August:

  1. 29 to 3 July (Brussels): restricted round in the format of a meeting of the Chief Negotiators and of specialised sessions;
  2. week of 6 July (London), week of 13 July (Brussels), and week of 27 July (London): meetings of the Chief Negotiators/their teams/specialised sessions;
  • 20 to 24 July (London) round 5 negotiations;
  1. 17 to 21 August (Brussels) round 6 negotiations.

To read the Addendum in full, click here.

Topics