Start of the Brexit changes

December 16, 2018

On March 29, 2017, the UK officially submitted the notification pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which will lead to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) leaving the EU. This process is commonly being referred to as ‘Brexit’. Negotiations on the conditions of Brexit are well underway.

Brexit will definitely affect all parties involved, but nothing can be said yet about the extent of the impact. If the EU and the UK fully agree on the withdrawal agreement before March 29, 2019, a transitional period will start March 29, 2019 which will last until 31 December, 2020. During this period, everything will temporarily remain the same as much as possible.

Hard Brexit

If no agreement is reached before March 29 (and a “hard Brexit” occurs), the trading rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) apply from that moment on. It is possible that UK and EU Notified Bodies' certificates may not be mutually recognized or deemed valid.

Final interpretation

You will probably get to know which of these two scenarios will apply shortly before the end of March 2019. It is unclear whether a transition treaty may be signed and/or arrangements can be agreed for Notified Bodies and their customers. European government leaders and politicians in the UK are now working on the Brexit deal concept. Hopefully, negotiations are concluded as soon as possible about the final completion. We follow these closely, work on scenarios for our customers and we’ll communicate about developments.