Implementation of the UK Withdrawal Agreement: Financial provisions, citizens' rights and the Northern Ireland Protocol

This EPRS paper analyses the implementation of the UK Withdrawal Agreement in three areas identified by the EU as key to ensuring the UK's orderly exit from the Union: financial settlement, citizens' rights and the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol. The citizens' rights provisions contained in Part Two of the Agreement are designed to protect the rights of both EU and UK citizens who had exercised free movement and made life choices based on the rights flowing from the UK's membership of the EU. The paper focuses on the UK's implementation of the citizens' rights provisions in the Agreement, along with the rights provided to protected UK citizens under the Agreement. The paper also discusses the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. While the Protocol aims to safeguard peace on the island of Ireland, it has been contentious in the UK, due to perceived effects on domestic supply chains. The paper discusses the issues under consideration and EU-UK negotiations to resolve the issues concerned.