UK EU Relationship Today: Where Things Stand

Last reviewed: October 2026

UK EU relationship today: the United Kingdom and European Union continue to work together through a network of agreements covering trade, security, energy, research and other areas.

This page explains where the UK–EU relationship stands today, what has changed since the original post-Brexit settlement, and which parts of the relationship are still being negotiated.

UK–EU Relations at a Glance

The relationship is no longer one of EU membership, but it continues to evolve through treaties, agreements and new areas of cooperation.

Outside the EU

The UK remains outside the EU, single market and customs union, with no role in EU institutions.

Core Agreements

The Withdrawal Agreement and Trade and Cooperation Agreement remain the legal foundations of UK–EU relations.

Closer Cooperation

New arrangements are expanding cooperation in areas including security, education, food trade and energy.

Still Evolving

Further agreements are still being negotiated or implemented, so parts of the relationship continue to change.

The UK–EU Relationship Today

The UK remains outside the European Union, the EU single market and the EU customs union. It does not take part in EU institutions as a Member State and is not covered by the full set of rights and obligations that come with EU membership.

Instead, the relationship is governed mainly by a series of treaties and agreements. These include the Withdrawal Agreement, which covers matters arising from the UK’s departure, and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which provides the main framework for trade and cooperation after Brexit.

The relationship has continued to develop since those agreements took effect. In May 2025, the UK and EU held their first formal summit since Brexit and agreed a new Strategic Partnership, a Security and Defence Partnership, and a Common Understanding setting out areas for deeper cooperation.

Sources: European Commission - Relations with the United Kingdom | Council of the EU - EU-UK Summit, 19 May 2025

The Agreements That Still Form the Foundation

The Withdrawal Agreement entered into force on 1 February 2020. It protects the rights of many EU citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in EU countries before the end of the transition period. It also contains the arrangements that now operate in Northern Ireland through the Windsor Framework.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement began applying provisionally on 1 January 2021 and entered into force on 1 May 2021. It covers trade in goods and services, transport, fisheries, energy, law enforcement and judicial cooperation, social security coordination and a range of other areas.

These agreements have not been replaced by the more recent UK–EU initiatives. The 2025 summit explicitly reaffirmed both sides’ commitment to implementing the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Windsor Framework, and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Sources: European Commission - The New Normal | GOV.UK - UK-EU Summit Joint Statement

The 2025 Strategic Partnership

The first UK–EU summit after Brexit took place in London on 19 May 2025. The two sides agreed a new Strategic Partnership and a Common Understanding on a renewed agenda for cooperation.

The Common Understanding identified several areas where the UK and EU intended to pursue closer cooperation. These included security and defence, food and agricultural trade, electricity trading, emissions trading, education and youth exchanges, migration, law enforcement and other practical areas of common interest.

The new partnership did not return the UK to EU membership, the single market or the customs union. Instead, it established a framework for closer cooperation in selected areas while leaving the UK’s overall post-Brexit status unchanged.

Sources: GOV.UK - UK-EU Summit Key Documentation | European Commission - Renewed Agenda for EU-UK Cooperation

Where Cooperation Is Developing

The 2025 partnership identified several areas where the UK and EU are pursuing closer practical cooperation.

Food & Agriculture

Negotiations aim to reduce barriers to trade in food, animals and plant products.

Energy & Emissions

Talks cover electricity-market cooperation and possible linking of emissions trading systems.

Security & Defence

A new partnership provides a framework for closer cooperation on European security and defence.

Education & Youth

The UK is set to associate with Erasmus+ again from 2027.

Trade and the Single Market

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement continues to allow qualifying goods to move between the UK and EU without tariffs or quotas, provided the relevant rules are met. However, Great Britain remains outside the EU single market and customs union, so customs procedures, regulatory requirements and border formalities still apply.

The newer UK–EU negotiations do not amount to a general return to the single market. Instead, they focus on particular sectors where both sides have agreed to explore closer arrangements.

This distinction matters. A sector-specific agreement can reduce or remove some barriers in a defined area without recreating all of the rights and obligations of EU membership or full participation in the single market.

Sources: European Commission - EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement | Council of the EU - Post-Brexit Agreements

Food and Agricultural Trade: The SPS Negotiations

One of the most significant negotiations concerns sanitary and phytosanitary rules, usually shortened to SPS. These rules cover areas such as food safety, animal health and plant health.

The UK and EU are negotiating an SPS agreement intended to reduce many of the checks and certification requirements that currently affect trade in food, animals and plant products. The proposed arrangement would involve the UK aligning with relevant EU rules within the scope of the agreement.

If concluded, the agreement could make some food and agricultural trade between Great Britain and the EU easier. It would not, however, amount to the UK rejoining the EU single market or customs union.

Sources: GOV.UK - SPS Agreement: Preparing Your Business | Food Standards Agency - SPS Programme Update, September 2026

Energy and Emissions Trading

Energy is another area where the UK–EU relationship is developing.

In March 2026, the Council of the European Union authorised negotiations on an agreement that could allow the UK to participate in the EU’s internal electricity market. The proposed arrangement would involve alignment with relevant EU electricity-market rules and an associated UK financial contribution under the terms being negotiated.

The UK and EU are also negotiating the possible linking of their emissions trading systems. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme and the EU Emissions Trading System currently operate separately. Linking them would create a closer relationship between the two carbon-pricing systems, but no final linking agreement has yet entered into force.

These negotiations illustrate how the current relationship can become more integrated in specific policy areas without changing the UK’s overall status outside the EU.

Sources: Council of the EU - Electricity, Cohesion and Erasmus+ Decisions, 30 March 2026 | GOV.UK - UK Emissions Trading Scheme Policy Overview

Security and Defence Cooperation

The UK and EU agreed a Security and Defence Partnership at the May 2025 summit.

The partnership provides a structured framework for cooperation in areas including support for Ukraine, maritime security, space security, cybersecurity, hybrid threats, critical infrastructure, crisis management, non-proliferation and defence-industry cooperation.

It does not make the United Kingdom part of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy. Instead, it provides a framework through which the UK and EU can cooperate more closely where their security interests overlap.

Sources: GOV.UK - UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership | Council of the EU - EU-UK Summit, 19 May 2025

Erasmus+ Returns in 2027

Education and youth exchanges are another area where the relationship has changed.

In April 2026, the UK and EU finalised the legal arrangements for the United Kingdom to associate with Erasmus+ from 2027. Erasmus+ supports international placements and partnership projects involving education, training, youth and sport.

UK participation from 2027 does not restore free movement or recreate the UK’s former position as an EU Member State. It is a negotiated association with a specific EU programme.

The agreement nevertheless represents a new formal connection between UK organisations and an EU programme that the UK had not participated in after the original post-Brexit transition.

Sources: GOV.UK - UK and EU Finalise Agreement to Bring UK into Erasmus+ in 2027 | GOV.UK - Overview of the Erasmus+ Programme

Northern Ireland and the Windsor Framework

Northern Ireland continues to have a distinct position within the post-Brexit arrangements.

Under the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland remains subject to a limited set of EU rules relating primarily to goods. The framework also contains arrangements intended to make it easier for many goods to move from Great Britain to Northern Ireland when they are intended to remain within the UK.

The UK and EU continue to oversee implementation through joint committees. In September 2026, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the full, timely and faithful implementation of the Windsor Framework, while noting that some practical work remained outstanding in areas including customs and sanitary and phytosanitary arrangements.

Sources: European Commission - Windsor Framework | GOV.UK - Windsor Framework Joint Statement, 15 September 2026

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is also covered by a separate UK–EU agreement.

The UK and EU signed a treaty concerning Gibraltar on 14 July 2026, and it began provisional application on 15 July 2026. The agreement is intended to remove physical barriers to the movement of people and goods between Gibraltar and Spain while protecting the EU’s Schengen area, single market and customs arrangements.

The treaty is separate from the main Trade and Cooperation Agreement and reflects Gibraltar’s particular geographical and political circumstances.

Sources: GOV.UK - UK-EU Agreement in Respect of Gibraltar | Council of the EU - Agreement in Respect of Gibraltar

What Has Not Changed

Although cooperation has expanded in several areas, some basic features of the post-Brexit settlement remain unchanged.

The United Kingdom is not an EU Member State. It has no voting rights in EU institutions, and it remains outside the EU single market and customs union.

Free movement between the UK and EU has not been restored. People moving between the UK and EU to live, work or study remain subject to immigration and residence rules, except where specific protections or agreements apply.

The newer agreements therefore represent closer cooperation in selected areas rather than a return to EU membership, the single market or the customs union.

Sources: European Commission - The New Normal | GOV.UK - UK-EU Summit Common Understanding

What Happens Next?

The UK–EU relationship remains a work in progress.

As of October 2026, negotiations are continuing on the SPS agreement, the possible linking of emissions trading systems, and arrangements concerning the EU internal electricity market. The two sides also continue to implement the Windsor Framework and the wider Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

UK and EU leaders said in September 2026 that they were working towards a successful outcome for the next UK–EU summit later in the year.

Future governments on both sides will be able to decide whether to deepen cooperation further, keep the relationship broadly as it is, or change priorities. Any major new arrangement would depend on negotiations and the legal procedures required by both the UK and the EU.

Sources: GOV.UK - PM Meeting with President of the European Commission, 22 September 2026 | Council of the EU - Post-Brexit Agreements

Where to Explore Next

Continue exploring the background to Brexit, the practical changes that followed, and the question of possible future EU membership.

UK & EU Today