Transitional period to last until end of 2020

Dario Pignatelli | Bloomberg | Getty Images

David Davis, U.K. exiting the European Union (EU) secretary, left, and Michel Barnier, chief negotiator for the European Union (EU).

The U.K. will remain in the European Union until the end of 2020, but with restricted powers, officials announced Monday.

The EU and the United Kingdom have agreed to a transition process of 21 months — from 29 March 2019 until the end of 2020 — before the country leaves the member bloc completely.

During that period, the “U.K. will no longer participate in European decision-making procedures,” the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters in Brussels Monday.

Starting March, 30 of 2019, European laws will continue to apply in the U.K., but London will not have any say in decision-making that involves the future of the European Union.

The transition period is aimed at giving businesses and citizens, both in Britain and the EU, more time to prepare for the U.K.’s complete departure from the bloc.

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