Recital 1

(1)On 29 March 2017, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the ‘United Kingdom’) submitted the notification of its intention to withdraw from the Union pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. On 17 October 2019, the Union and the United Kingdom reached an agreement on the Withdrawal Agreement ² , with a revised Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and a revised Political Declaration ³ . Pursuant to that agreement and following its ratification by the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, its adoption by the European Parliament and its conclusion by the Council, the United Kingdom became a third country on 1 February 2020 and Union law will cease to apply to and in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2020.