(3)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 clearing obligation laid down in Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 does not however take into account the eventuality of a Member State withdrawing from the Union. Delegated Regulations (EU) 2015/2205, (EU) 2016/592 and (EU) 2016/1178 specify the dates from which the clearing obligation is to take effect for contracts pertaining to certain classes of OTC derivatives. In addition, those Regulations provide for different dates 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. The challenges faced by the parties to an OTC derivative contract whose counterparties are established in the United Kingdom are therefore 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.