UK Formally Leaves the European Union

The United Kingdom left the EU at 23:00 GMT on January 31, 2020, becoming the first member state ever to leave. The UK entered a transition period until December 31, 2020 during which it remained in the Single Market and Customs Union. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was agreed on December 24, 2020 and provisionally applied from January 1, 2021, avoiding a no-deal exit but introducing significant trade friction particularly for services and Northern Ireland.