FIN.

DexEU announces Brexit progress

The Department for Exiting the EU published a press statement alongside the announcement on 14 November that the UK and EU negotiating teams had reached an “in principle” agreement on the Withdrawal Agreement and an outline of the Political Declaration on the future relationship. It also published the draft agreement, outline declaration and joint statement.

Of particular interest to financial services is the comment that the Political Declaration will reflect the convergence achieved over recent months in a close relationship on services and investment, including on financial services.  The draft Declaration says the arrangements will deliver “a level of liberalisation in trade in services well beyond…. WTO commitments” with  commitments to preserve financial stability, market integrity, investor protection and fair competition, while respecting regulatory and decision-making autonomy. It caters for commencement of equivalence assessments to be concluded by the end of June 2020 and a future close and structured cooperation on regulatory and supervisory matters.

The negotiators aim to agree the Political Declaration by the end of November.

Follow our Brexit hub for updates.

 

Emma Radmore