Britain and the EU agree new Withdrawal Agreement measures on rights and Northern Ireland
The Joint Committee that oversees the Withdrawal Agreement met in Brussels on Tuesday and adopted three decisions, on social security, AI and forced labour, ahead of a summit on 20 November.
Britain and the European Union have agreed a further set of measures under the Withdrawal Agreement, at a meeting of the agreement's Joint Committee in Brussels on Tuesday. The meeting was co-chaired by the UK Minister for Intergovernmental Relations and European Relations, Hamish Falconer, and the European Commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič. It was the first meeting of the committee since 2 February, and it came ten days before a UK-EU summit in Brussels on 20 November.
The co-chairs took stock of how the agreement has been implemented since that last meeting and reaffirmed the two sides' shared commitment to its full, timely and faithful implementation in all its parts. They said they had agreed to undertake all the necessary action to reflect that commitment in practice. Citizens' rights were described as being of the utmost priority for both sides, with almost 6 million EU citizens and 1 million UK nationals protected by the agreement.
On citizens' rights, the statement pointed to the transition that lies ahead in 2027, when citizens move from temporary to permanent residence. The co-chairs said it was important to make that transition smooth, so people can take up in full the protections the agreement gives them, and they committed to step up work on the structural issues affecting the everyday lives of citizens, so people can exercise in full their rights to live, work and travel, and keep the benefits and safeguards attached to them. Social security coordination was picked out as central to protecting citizens in both countries.
Almost 6 million EU citizens and 1 million UK nationals are protected by the Withdrawal AgreementJoint statement, Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee, 10 November 2026
Three decisions were adopted at the meeting. One relates to social security coordination, amending Part I of Annex I to the agreement. The other two add newly adopted EU acts to Annex 2 of the Windsor Framework: the Forced Labour Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/3015, and the AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689. A written statement laid before Parliament on 4 November by Mr Falconer had set out in advance that the Government would agree to those two decisions, and explained his opinion that neither act would put a new regulatory border in place between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Windsor Framework itself was a central theme of the statement. The co-chairs recalled its fundamental role in avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland, in keeping Northern Ireland's unique access to the EU Single Market while protecting that market, and in safeguarding the integrity of the UK's Internal Market. They welcomed progress that delivers new benefits, including the movement of consumer parcels to Northern Ireland, protected access to steel for Northern Ireland traders, and simplifications in duty-related schemes for goods that stay in the UK. They also agreed to accelerate delivery of safeguards for the Single Market, and to strengthen efforts on sanitary and phytosanitary measures so that all agri-foods move to Northern Ireland in accordance with the Windsor Framework rules.
The meeting also produced a joint declaration about how Article 5 of the Windsor Framework applies. It clarifies the treatment of handling fees on consumer parcels: the fees will count in the same way as customs duties, which means no fee is payable where goods stay in the UK, and where goods are at risk of entering the EU the fees are collected and retained by the UK authorities. On the Cyber Resilience Act, the two sides agreed to look at every option for keeping the framework working well, and to take whatever decisions are needed in future. The committee adopted its annual report for 2025, and the co-chairs agreed to continue working at pace, describing the Withdrawal Agreement, together with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the recent agreement on Gibraltar, as a solid foundation for strengthening bilateral relations ahead of the summit.
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