(9)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. The requirement to exchange collateral set out in Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 in respect of over-the-counter (‘OTC’) derivative contracts not cleared by a central counterparty (‘CCP’) does not take into account the eventuality of a Member State withdrawing from the Union. The challenges faced by parties to an OTC derivative contract whose counterparties are established in the United Kingdom are a direct consequence of an event that is beyond their control and may put them at a disadvantage compared to other counterparties in the Union. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/2251 specifies different dates of application of the procedures to exchange collateral for non-centrally cleared OTC derivative contracts, depending on the category of counterparty to those contracts. Counterparties cannot predict what the status of a counterparty established in the United Kingdom might become or to what extent that counterparty would be able to continue providing certain services to counterparties established in the Union.