End of the EU transition period: help and information for people in Wales

Published 16/12/2020   |   Last Updated 27/05/2021   |   Reading Time minutes

As of 1 January, the UK and EU began trading on the basis of a Trade Cooperation Agreement that was agreed by both sides on 24 December. The agreement was in force provisionally whilst the EU completed the final stages of its ratification procedure. This included a vote to approve it by the European Parliament on 28 April, and a final decision by the EU Council on 29 April. The agreement entered fully into force on 1 May 2021.

This move to trading and engaging with the EU on the basis of the new agreement has meant changes in a number of areas for businesses and citizens.

It is important to follow guidance from official and reputable sources about what these changes mean and the different actions you may need to take. This blog post provides links to reliable and official information from the UK, Wales and the EU to help people in Wales get the information they may need.

We will update this post with any additional useful links as they become available.

UK Government

  • gov.uk/transition is the UK Government’s main page for information and guidance for businesses and citizens on the new rules that apply to matters like travel and doing business with the EU. It includes a Brexit Checker tool which, upon completion, provides a personalised list of actions for individuals and/or businesses.
  • The Border Operating Model outlines the process for moving goods between GB and the EU now the transition period has ended. A separate Case Studies document has also been created to represent end-to-end scenarios for businesses importing and exporting goods between GB and the EU.
  • The Food Standards Agency provides information for businesses who trade in food or animal feed.
  • UK Government guidance on trading and moving goods in and out of Northern Ireland
  • The UK and EU have agreed a Trade and Cooperation Agreement and two associated agreements - one on security and another on nuclear cooperation. The UK Government has published a summary explainer which sets out the core provisions of the Agreements.

Welsh Government

  • The Preparing Wales webpage acts as the Welsh Government’s single source of information about the actions for businesses, citizens and other organisations in Wales. The website also sign-posts readers to other Welsh Government and UK Government guidance, where they apply in Wales.
  • The Business Wales EU Transition Portal aims to offer a range of support mechanisms to businesses and includes the ‘Business Online Support Service’, a telephone advice line for businesses, finance locators, and a number of sector specific online resources.
  • The End of Transition Action Plan describes actions taken by the Welsh Government to prepare for the end of the transition period, both independently and jointly with the UK Government.
  • The previous Welsh Government published a paper that examines the implications of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement for citizens, businesses and communities in Wales. An annex document was also published which examines in greater detail the implications for businesses.

European Union

Other

The organisations below provide reliable sources of additional analysis on UK-EU relations:


Article by Nia Moss, Sara Moran and Rhun Davies, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament