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EU Treaty

Basic InformationWTO Consideration ProcessRTA ProvisionsRTA Changes

Agreement name:	EU Treaty
Coverage:	Goods & Services	Type:	Customs Union & Economic Integration Agreement
Status:	In Force	Notification under:	GATT Art. XXIV & GATS Art. V
Date of signature:	25-Mar-1957	Date of notification (G):	24-Apr-1957
		Date of notification (S):	10-Nov-1995
Date of entry into force:	01-Jan-1958	End of implementation period:	1970
Remarks:	Official Journal of the European Union: C 326 of 26-Oct-2012. The United Kingdom was a Member State of the European Union until 31 January 2020. The European Union and the United Kingdom have agreed a Withdrawal Agreement pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which provides for a time-limited transition period during which European Union law, with limited exceptions as provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement will apply to and in the United Kingdom. Further details are available in the communication from the United Kingdom (WT/GC/206) dated 1 February 2020 and the note verbal from the European Union (WT/LET/1462) dated 27 January 2020 notifying WTO members that the United Kingdom is treated as a member State of the European Union for the purposes of relevant international agreements for the duration of the transition period.
Current signatories:	Austria; Belgium; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Ireland; Italy; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Malta; Netherlands; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Slovak Republic; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden
Original signatories:	Belgium; France; Germany; Italy; Luxembourg; Netherlands
RTA Composition:	Plurilateral
Region:	Europe
All Parties WTO members?	Yes	Cross-Regional:	No

Related agreements

EC (10) Enlargement
EC (12) Enlargement
EC (15) Enlargement
EC (25) Enlargement
EC (27) Enlargement
EC (9) Enlargement
EU (28) Enlargement

Official Web Address

European Commission

Text of the agreement

Text of the agreement	E F S

Annexes & related documents

Annexes	E F S

Consideration status (G):	Report adopted	Consideration status (S):	Factual Abstract issued

Related documents

Document series: WT/REG39

Document type	Symbol	Language
Notification (G)	L/626	E
Notification (S)	S/C/N/6	E F S
Factual Abstract (S)		E
Standard Format for information on RTAs (S)	WT/REG39/1	E F S
Questions and Replies	WT/REG39/2	E F S
Questions and Replies	WT/REG39/3	E F S
Note on the Meeting of the CRTA	WT/REG39/M/1	E F S
Note on the Meeting of the CRTA	WT/REG39/M/2	E F S
Note on the Meeting of the CRTA	WT/REG39/M/3	E F S
Note on the Meeting of the CRTA	WT/REG39/M/4	E F S
Note on the Meeting of the CRTA	WT/REG39/M/5	E F S
Report	BISD 6S/70 (L/778)	E
Additional Information / Verbal Note	WT/L/779	E F S
Additional Information / Notification of Succession	WT/LET/679	E F S
Additional Information / Communication from the United Kingdom	WT/GC/206	E F S
Additional Information / Communication from the European Union	WT/LET/1462	E F S
Additional Information / Communication from the United Kingdom	WT/GC/226	E F S
Notification of changes (G) / Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom	WT/REG39/N/1	E F S
Notification of changes (S) / Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom	S/C/N/6/Add.1	E F S
Notification / Inactive Agreements	WT/REG/GEN/N/10	E F S

Document type	Language
Factual Abstract (S)	E

RTA Provisions Glossary

For details on these provisions, please consult the Glossary.

Last modified on: 14/05/2019

Topics
	All tariffs eliminated at end of implementation by at least one Party
	All quantitative import restrictions prohibited
	All Export Duties and Charges prohibited
	All Export restrictions, including quantitative restrictions, prohibited
	Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS)
		Transparency obligations (SPS)
	Technical regulations, standards, technical barriers to trade (TBT)
		Transparency obligations (TBT)
		Mandatory recognition of conformity assessment results
		Mandatory recognition of technical regulations
		Harmonization/alignement of TBT measures at the bilateral/regional level
	Balance-of-payments measures (Goods)
	Anti-Dumping measures
		Prohibition of intra-RTA Anti-Dumping measures
	Countervailing measures
		Prohibition of intra-RTA countervailing measures
	Subsidies (Goods)
		Prohibition of agricultural export subsidies
	Sector-specific chapter/section or other legal instrument (Goods)
	Services
		Negative list (Services)
	Investment Liberalization Provisions
		MFN provision (Investment)
		National Treatment with regard to the entry of investment (establishment)
		Investment liberalization
	Other Investment Provisions
		Investor to State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) included
	Provisions on capital transfers
	Mutual Recognition
	Balance-of-payments measures (Services)


	Subsidies (Services)
	Movement of Natural Persons
	Sector-specific chapter/section or other legal instrument (Services)
	General Exceptions
	Security Exceptions
	Accession
		Accession open to some third parties only
	Dispute Settlement (DS)
		Standing Tribunal
	Government procurement
	All Parties are party to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) at entry into force
	Intellectual property rights
	Competition
		Adopts or maintains competition law
	Provisions on designated monopolies or State Owned Enterprises (SOEs)
	Environment
	Labour
		No relaxation of labour laws
	Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)
	Gender
		Cooperation between the Parties
		Right to regulate

Notification of changes

Parties concerned:	Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden	Changes affect:	Goods & Services
Date of signature of changes:	30-Jan-2020	Date of notification of changes	25-Feb-2021
Date of entry into force of changes:	01-Jan-2021
Remarks:	The Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union as well as the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community ceased to apply to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland pursuant to Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union. This happened with the date of effectiveness of 1 February 2020, but a transition period lasted until 31 December 2020. On this basis, the internal market of the European Union, which includes the free movement of goods and the free movement of services, no longer includes the United Kingdom after 31 December 2020. Northern Ireland and the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus, however, remain included in certain respects.

Related documents

Notification of changes (G)	WT/REG39/N/1	E F S
Notification of changes (S)	S/C/N/6/Add.1	E F S

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