Policy paper

Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee annual report 2024 (HTML)

Published 13 May 2025

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Report from the Secretariat to the Joint Committee on the implementation of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (the Withdrawal Agreement) 

for the calendar year 2024

Introduction

1. The Withdrawal Agreement (Article 164) established a Joint Committee to supervise and facilitate the implementation and application of the Agreement. The Withdrawal Agreement requires the Joint Committee to issue an annual report, drawn up by the Secretariat[footnote 1], each calendar year. This report is provided pursuant to Article 164(6).

2. The Withdrawal Agreement (Article 164(2)) requires the Joint Committee to meet at least once a year. In 2024, the Joint Committee met once on 16 May 2024 in Brussels. 

3. In addition, the six Specialised Committees established by the Withdrawal Agreement[footnote 2] met on the following dates in 2024:

  • the Committee on citizens’ rights: 6 June and 14 November;
  • the Committee on the other separation provisions: co-chairs agreed not to meet in 2024;
  • the Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Windsor Framework[footnote 3]: 24 January, 25 April, 18 July and 22 October;
  • the Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Protocol relating to the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus: co-chairs agreed not to meet in 2024; 
  • the Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Protocol on Gibraltar: co-chairs agreed not to meet in 2024;
  • the Committee on the financial provisions: 24 April and 25 October.

4. Moreover, aside from the formal meetings of the Withdrawal Agreement joint bodies, the EU and UK co-chairs of the Joint Committee and of the Specialised Committees held regular virtual and in-person meetings throughout 2024 regarding the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement.

5. This report provides an overview of Withdrawal Agreement activity from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024. There are two sections: (1) Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee activity in 2024 and (2) Withdrawal Agreement Specialised Committee activity in 2024. The report also contains the joint press statements following the meeting of the Joint Committee in 2024 in the annex. 

SECTION 1: Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee activity in 2024 

6. The EU hosted the 13th meeting of the Joint Committee in Brussels, as well as by video conference, on 16 May. The Joint Committee undertook a stocktake of Specialised Committees’ activity and adopted the Annual Report on the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement for 2023.  

7. The Joint Committee took note of the state of play of the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement since the last meeting on 28 September 2023 and the work ahead, focussing on citizens’ rights and the Windsor Framework. For citizens’ rights, the EU and the UK underlined the importance of this topic, reiterated their commitment to ensure the full and correct implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement as a key shared priority and welcomed their cooperation. The EU and the UK also agreed that their joint work should intensify further with a view to finding solutions to outstanding issues, with the aim to ensure that all beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement can fully enjoy their rights. For the Windsor Framework item, the co-chairs welcomed the restoration of the political institutions in Northern Ireland in February 2024. The EU and the UK noted the progress made in the implementation of the Windsor Framework, which had already delivered significant benefits for people and businesses in Northern Ireland, across many areas, and adopted two decisions on the implementation of the Windsor Framework. These respectively allowed businesses in Northern Ireland to benefit from UK tariff rate quotas for specific agri-food products, whilst protecting the EU Single Market, and added a newly adopted Union act to the Windsor Framework. The EU and the UK also discussed a number of outstanding challenges and upcoming milestones, and agreed that intensive work should continue with renewed efforts and commitment to ensure the full implementation of all the elements of the Windsor Framework in a faithful and timely way. 

8. The Joint Committee adopted two Decisions: 

a. Decision No 1/2024 amending the Decision of the Joint Committee No 1/2023[footnote 4]; and

b. Decision No 2/2024 adding a newly adopted Union act to Annex 2 to the Windsor Framework[footnote 5].

9. The Joint Committee also adopted a Corrigendum to Decision No 1/2023[footnote 6].

10. The Decisions and Corrigendum are also available on the respective webpages of the European Commission[footnote 7] and the UK Government.

SECTION 2: Withdrawal Agreement Specialised Committees activity in 2024

11. The Specialised Committees oversee and facilitate the implementation and application of specific parts of the Withdrawal Agreement and may discuss any point raised by the UK and EU of relevance for the area and which gives rise to a difficulty or need for clarification. They are required to meet at least once a year unless the co-chairs agree otherwise.

12. The Specialised Committee on citizens’ rights has a key role in overseeing the implementation of Part Two of the Agreement. The Specialised Committee met twice in 2024, on 6 June and 14 November.

13. The Specialised Committee received updates on the implementation of Part Two of the Withdrawal Agreement in the UK and the EU. The Specialised Committee served as a forum for continued communication and collaboration, allowing both parties to take stock of outstanding issues and discuss the progress made. The UK and the EU underlined their ongoing commitment to the full implementation of Part Two of the Withdrawal Agreement in both meetings.

14. The EU and the UK also discussed in both meetings the EU’s EES (Entry/Exit System), ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) and the UK’s ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation), from the perspective of the Withdrawal Agreement and their implications for beneficiaries of the Withdrawal Agreement. At the meeting that took place on 14 November, both parties underlined the importance of administrative preparedness and proper communication in view of the roll-out of these schemes. They called on Withdrawal Agreement beneficiaries concerned to take in good time all necessary measures to facilitate their future travel.  

15. Parts of the two meetings of the Specialised Committee were dedicated to engagement with external representatives from civil society organisations, representing EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU. In addition to this, the European Commission and the UK’s Independent Monitoring Authority, established under Article 159(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement, presented at the meeting that took place on 14 November their respective Annual Reports for 2023, adopted in accordance with Article 159(2) of the Withdrawal Agreement.

16. Joint statements were published following the meetings of the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights that took place on 6 June[footnote 8] and 14 November[footnote 9].

17. The Specialised Committee on the other separation provisions facilitates the implementation of Part Three of the Withdrawal Agreement. The co-chairs agreed for the Specialised Committee to not meet in 2024.

18. The Specialised Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Windsor Framework is responsible for facilitating the implementation of the Windsor Framework. The Specialised Committee met four times in 2024 on 24 January, 25 April, 18 July and 22 October. 

19. At the meeting which took place on 24 January, the parties discussed the implementation of the Windsor Framework in the areas of agri-food and customs in light of the provisions which took effect in autumn 2023. The Committee also took stock of the implementation milestones ahead.

20. On 25 April, the first Specialised Committee took place following the restoration of the Northern Ireland institutions in February. The parties discussed in particular the implementation of the Windsor Framework in the areas of agri-food and customs and took stock of the preparations for the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee on 16 May.

21. At the meeting which took place on 18 July, the parties took stock of the implementation of the Windsor Framework and reviewed developments in areas of agri-food, customs, medicines and trade. They agreed to step up work with renewed determination to fulfil the joint commitment to the full, timely and faithful implementation of all the elements of the Framework, noting the importance and priority of concrete practical steps to this end. 

22. At the meeting which took place on 22 October, the parties welcomed the operationalisation of tariff rate quotas for certain agricultural products. They discussed the continued and intensive work to implement the Windsor Framework that was underway in the areas of agri-food, customs, medicines and trade, and underlined the importance of ensuring the full operation of all the safeguards and flexibilities for the benefit of people and businesses in Northern Ireland.

23. At each of the meetings, the UK and EU took stock of the work of the Joint Consultative Working Group and its structured sub-groups and reiterated the importance of continued joint engagement with Northern Ireland stakeholders. Joint engagement took place ahead of all four meetings.  

24. Joint statements were published following the meetings of the Specialised Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Windsor Framework that took place on 24 January[footnote 10], 25 April[footnote 11], 18 July[footnote 12] and 22 October[footnote 13]. 

25. The Joint Consultative Working Group, established under Article 15(1) of the Windsor Framework, met a total of 11 times in 2024. These were accompanied by 10 meetings of the JCWG structured sub-groups, covering the areas of: customs, agri-food, goods regulation, single electricity market and state aid.

26. The co-chairs of the Specialised Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Protocol relating to the Sovereign Base Areas of the UK in Cyprus agreed for the Specialised Committee to not meet in 2024. 

27. The co-chairs of the Specialised Committee on issues related to the implementation of the Protocol on Gibraltar agreed for the Specialised Committee to not meet in 2024.

28. The Specialised Committee on the Financial Provisions oversees the implementation of the financial provisions set out in Part Five (Financial Provisions) of the Withdrawal Agreement. The Specialised Committee met twice in 2024, on 24 April and 25 October.

29. The parties noted the ongoing cooperation with regard to the financial provisions and noted that all payments in relation to the UK settlement had been made on time and in full. The parties committed to continue working collaboratively on a range of implementation issues, in recognition of the mutual benefit of a smooth implementation of the financial provisions. Joint statements were published online[footnote 14] following the meetings. 

Conclusion

30. The meeting of the Joint Committee, its acts as well as the meetings of the Specialised Committees and related engagement during 2024 continued to provide a stable and firm basis for dialogue and cooperation by both parties to facilitate the implementation and application of the Withdrawal Agreement and to seek solutions to outstanding issues. 

Signed in London, 29 April 2025

For the Joint Committee

The co-chairs

Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds 

Minister for Cabinet Office, United Kingdom 

UK co-chair

Maroš Šefčovič

Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency; European Commission 

EU co-chair

Annex

Respective joint press statement following the meetings of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee in 2024

Joint Committee meeting of 16 May 2024:

Joint statement on the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee and Trade and Cooperation Agreement Partnership Council meetings, 16 May 2024 

Joint statement EVP Šefčovič UK Foreign Secretary Cameron

  1. The Secretariat to the Joint Committee operates under the authority of the Joint Committee co-chairs to perform the tasks conferred on it, as outlined in the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Committee and Specialised Committees (Annex VIII). The Secretariat is composed of officials from His Majesty’s Government of the United Kingdom and the European Commission. ↩

  2. The Specialised Committees are established by Article 165 of the Withdrawal Agreement and governed by the Rules of Procedure in Annex VIII to the Withdrawal Agreement. ↩

  3. See Joint Declaration No 1/2023 of the Union and the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023, OJ L 102, 17.4.2023, p. 87–87 / Asset Publishing Service Declaration No 1 2023. The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, as amended by the Joint Committee Decision 1/2023, should be known as the ‘Windsor Framework’. ↩

  4. OJ L, 2024/2170, 23.8.2024, ELI. ↩

  5. OJ L, 2024/2134, 7.8.2024, ELI. ↩

  6. OJ L, 2024/90487, 7.8.2024, ELI. ↩

  7. Meetings of the EU-UK Joint and Specialised Committees. ↩

  8. UK joint statement Citizens’ Rights Specialised Committee meeting, 6 June 2024 / EU Joint statement following the fourteenth meeting of the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights ↩

  9. UK joint statement Citizens’ Rights Specialised Committee meeting, 14 November 2024 / EU Joint statement following the fifteenth meeting of the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights ↩

  10. UK Joint Statement Specialised Committee on the Implementation of the Windsor Framework: joint statement, 24 January 2024 / EU Joint statement following the meeting of the Specialised Committee on the implementation of the Windsor Framework on 24 January 2024 ↩

  11. UK Joint Statement Specialised Committee on the Implementation of the Windsor Framework: joint statement, 25 April 2024 / EU Joint statement following the meeting of the Specialised Committee on the implementation of the Windsor Framework on 25 April 2024 ↩

  12. UK joint statement Specialised Committee on the Implementation of the Windsor Framework 18 July 2024 / EU Joint statement following the meeting of the Specialised Committee on the implementation of the Windsor Framework on 18 July 2024 ↩

  13. UK Joint Statement following the meeting of the Specialised Committee on the Implementation of the Windsor Framework / EU joint statement following the meeting of the Specialised Committee on the implementation of the Windsor Framework on 22 October 2024 ↩

  14. UK Joint statement following the tenth meeting of the Specialised Committee on Financial Provisions/ UK Joint statement following the ninth meeting of the Specialised Committee on Financial Provisions /EU Joint statement following the ninth meeting of the Specialised Committee on Financial Provisions and EU Joint statement following the tenth meeting of the Specialised Committee on Financial Provisions ↩

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