The Withdrawal Agreement, Part One

This chapter examines Part One of the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the European Union. Part One contains, as its title indicates, provisions which are ‘common’ to the whole Withdrawal Agreement and thus of horizontal importance. Together with Part Six, on Institutional and Final Provisions, the Common Provisions set the framework for the whole Agreement. The provisions of Part One correspond to a very large extent to the original draft agreement presented by the European Commission, and were (save as regards Article 4) agreed immediately at negotiators’ level. These provisions define the territorial scope of the Agreement; specify that the legal effects produced by the provisions of the Agreement and the provisions of Union law made applicable by it shall be the same as those produced in the Union, and that the provisions of Union law made applicable shall be interpreted in accordance with methods and general principles of Union law; and exclude the UK from further access to networks, information systems, and databases at the end of the transition period, unless otherwise provided. In accordance with Article 185 of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Common Provisions are applicable from the entry into force of the Withdrawal Agreement, i.e. from 1 February 2020.