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The EU and UK flag next to one another
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Photos of 3 Co-Chairs
Co-Chairs: David McAllister, MEP, Bernd Lange, MEP, Nathalie Loiseau, MEP
Welcome to the website of the European Parliament's United Kingdom Contact Group (UKCG), which we have the honour to chair.

We want to have a positive and stable relationship with the United Kingdom based on the implementation of the agreements we have jointly negotiated and concluded: the Withdrawal Agreement that ensured an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU, and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement which provides a solid basis for a strong and constructive partnership between the EU and the UK.

It is now a responsibility of the European Parliament to oversee the implementation of these agreements. The UKCG will ensure the internal coordination of parliamentary bodies when exercising this oversight function.

We support the Commission in continuing to engage with the people and businesses to find practical solutions to an effective implementation of the agreements, in particular as regards the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland. We stand ready to continue exercising our crucial scrutiny role and to work alongside our British and European partners in securing the best outcome for all parties.
The UK Contact Group was created in June 2021. Considering the importance of legal certainty, and taking into account the complexity of of the agreements that shape the EU's relations with the UK, the UKCG was establishd to ensure coordination within Parliament on the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Withdrawal Agreement and other UK-related issues needing internal coordination.

Inside the Parliament, the UK Contact Group is the main point of contact with Mr Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President of the Commission and the EU's representative in the Joint Committee and in the Partnership Council, the governance structures which oversee the implementation of the agreements with the UK. We exchange views and interact on a regular basis, following closely any issue related to the implementation of the agreements and other UK-related issues, ensuring the involvement of the relevant sectoral committees, and providing regular input to the leaders of the political groups and to the delegation to the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.

Through its composition, the UK Contact Group ensures involvement of the political groups, and of all the committees involved in the scrutiny of the implementation of the agreements.

This website provides more details about the UK Contact Group and the different actors involved in the scrutiny of the implementation of the EU-UK Agreements and in Parliament's relations with the UK. We hope that the site will give you a clearer understanding of the work of the European Parliament in shaping EU-UK relations.
- David McAllister, MEP, Co-Chair
- Bernd Lange, MEP, Co-Chair
- Nathalie Loiseau, MEP, Co-Chair

Building on the past

The European Parliament approved the Withdrawal Agreement on 29 January 2020, just two days before the United Kingdom left the European Union. The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was approved by Parliament on 28 April 2021, just three days before it entered into force.

Parliament monitored closely the negotiations of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement through its UK Coordination Group. Set up in February 2020, the UK Coordination Group held regular meetings with the lead negotiator for the EU side, Mr Michel Barnier, and with the members of his team, the Task Force for relations with the United Kingdom. These meetings permitted Parliament to be duly and promptly informed, and to react swiftly when necessary, keeping always the political groups and the parliamentary committees informed and involved. The mandate of Parliament's Coordination Group came to an end with the entry into force of the TCA, giving the way to the setting up of the UK Contact Group.

The UK Coordination Group had been preceded by the Brexit Steering Group, which had been set up by the Conference of Presidents set up in April 2017. Working under the aegis of the Conference of Presidents, the Brexit Steering Group's purpose was to coordinate and prepare Parliament's deliberations, considerations and resolutions on the UK's withdrawal from the EU. The Brexit Steering Group finished its work on 31 January 2020.