Brexit

Brexit timeline at a glance

What’s happened so far?

June 2016: EU Referendum. Across the UK as a whole, the vote to leave the European Union won by 51.9% to 48.1% voting to remain. In Wales, the leave vote was 52.5%.
29 March 2016: UK invokes Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union
19 June 2017: Brexit negotiations talks begin between the UK and the EC.  Any deal will need approval from at least 20 countries with 65% of the population.
25 November 2018: The Withdrawal Agreement was endorsed by the European Council.
15 January 2019: The Prime Minister loses the ‘Meaningful Vote’ and the Leader of the Opposition tables a motion of no confidence in the Government.
18 February 2019: The first meeting of the Regional Investment in Wales Group takes place.
10 April 2019: The European Council agrees to extend Article 50 until 31 October 2019.
23 July 2019: Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister and commits to Brexit on 31 October.

What Next?

2019
31 October: ‘Brexit Day’ – when the UK is due to leave the EU, currently with no deal.

There are three other potential situations for this date:

  • A Withdrawal Agreement has already been approved, ratified and implemented by the UK and EU during the current extension period.
  • The Government has requested and been granted another extension of Article 50 by the EU27.
  • The Government has unilaterally revoked Article 50 and the UK has stayed in the EU.    If agreement is reached, a two year transition period will take place until December 2020 where some EU rules will remain, but the UK can negotiate its own trade deals. If a ‘no-deal’ Brexit takes place, there will be no transition period, the UK will revert to World Trade Organisation rules on trade, and the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will remain unresolved.

If agreement is reached, a two year transition period will take place until December 2020 where some EU rules will remain, but the UK can negotiate its own trade deals.

If a ‘no-deal’ Brexit takes place, there will be no transition period, the UK will revert to World Trade Organisation rules on trade, and the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will remain unresolved.

2020
31 December:  Last date of the potential transition period (unless agreement is made to extend)

2021
1 January: Agreement on future relations will potentially come into force (unless agreement is made to extend the transition period).

 

For further details of the key Brexit events by the UK and Welsh Governments to date and links to key documents, see our Brexit – Key Developments page.