The Windsor Framework

The European Union and the United Kingdom have acknowledged the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland. They have recognised the need to safeguard the 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland and protecting North–South cooperation.

This solution was found in the form of the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland, an integral part of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement. The Protocol:

  • avoids a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, thereby enabling the smooth functioning of the all-island economy and safeguarding the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement in all its dimensions;
  • ensures the integrity of the EU’s single market for goods, along with all the guarantees it offers in terms of consumer protection, public and animal health protection, and combating fraud and trafficking.

The substantive provisions of the Protocol started to apply on 1 January 2021. Pursuant to them, in order to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and ensure that goods from Northern Ireland can move onto the EU’s single market without restriction, a set of relevant EU rules, in particular relating to the single market for goods and the Customs Union apply to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland.

The Windsor Framework is the new way to refer to the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, in accordance with Joint Declaration No 1/2023 of the Union and the United Kingdom, made in the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee on 24 March 2023.

This collection is intended for information purposes only. Its content is updated regularly, and should be read in conjunction with the relevant provisions of the Windsor Framework and its annexes, in particular the notes or comments that define the application of certain legal acts for the purposes of the Windsor Framework.


Below, you will find:

Key documents


Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community
Decision No 1/2023 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 laying down arrangements relating to the Windsor Framework [2023/819]
Recommendation No 1/2023 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on market surveillance and enforcement [2023/820]
Recommendation No 2/2023 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on Article 13(3a) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland [2023/821]
Joint Declaration No 1/2023 of the Union and the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023
Joint Declaration of the Union and the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on the application of Article 10(1) of the Windsor Framework (See Joint Declaration No 1/2023.)
Joint Declaration of the Union and the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on Article 13(3a) of the Windsor Framework (See Joint Declaration No 1/2023.)
Joint Declaration No 2/2023 of the Union and the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023
Joint Declaration of the Union and the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on the VAT regime for goods not being at risk for the Union’s internal market and on the VAT arrangements for cross-border refunds
Unilateral Declaration by the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on market surveillance and enforcement
Unilateral Declaration by the Union in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 taking note of the Unilateral Declaration by the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on market surveillance and enforcement
Unilateral Declaration by the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on export procedures for goods moving from Northern Ireland to other parts of the United Kingdom
Unilateral Declaration by the Union in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 taking note of the Unilateral Declaration by the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on export procedures for goods moving from Northern Ireland to other parts of the United Kingdom
Unilateral Declaration by the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on the democratic consent mechanism in Article 18 of the Windsor Framework (See Joint Declaration No 1/2023.)
Unilateral Declaration by the Union in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 taking note of the Unilateral Declaration by the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on the democratic consent mechanism in Article 18 of the Windsor Framework (See Joint Declaration No 1/2023.)
Unilateral Declaration by the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on strengthening enforcement action for goods moved in parcels from another part of the United Kingdom to Northern Ireland
Unilateral Declaration by the Union in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 taking note of the Unilateral Declaration by the United Kingdom in the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 24 March 2023 on strengthening enforcement action for goods moved in parcels from another part of the United Kingdom to Northern Ireland
Decision No 1/2022 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 21 February 2022 amending the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community [2022/291]
Decision No 2/2022 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Communi of 21 February 2022 amending Decision No 7/2020 establishing a list of 25 persons who are willing and able to serve as members of an arbitration panel under the Agreement (2022/292)
Decision No 1/2020 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 12 June 2020 amending the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community [2020/1022]
Decision No 2/2020 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 17 December 2020 setting the date from which the provisions of Title III of Part Two of the Agreement shall apply to the nationals of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway, and the Swiss Confederation [2020/2246]
Decision No 3/2020 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 17 December 2020 amending the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland to the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community [2020/2247]
Decision No 4/2020 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 17 December 2020 on the determination of goods not at risk [2020/2248]
Decision No 5/2020 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 17 December 2020 determining the initial maximum exempted overall annual level of support and the initial minimum percentage referred to in Article 10(2) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland to the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community [2020/2249]
Decision No 6/2020 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 17 December 2020 providing for the practical working arrangements relating to the exercise of the rights of Union representatives referred to in Article 12(2) of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland [2020/2250]
Decision No 7/2020 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 22 December 2020 establishing a list of 25 persons who are willing and able to serve as members of an arbitration panel under the Agreement [2020/2251]
Council Decision (EU) 2020/135 of 30 January 2020 on the conclusion of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Text with EEA relevance)
Council Decision (EU) 2019/274 of 11 January 2019 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union and of the European Atomic Energy Community, of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Text with EEA relevance.)
Council Decision (EU) 2019/642 of 13 April 2019 amending Decision (EU) 2019/274 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union and of the European Atomic Energy Community, of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Text with EEA relevance.)

Summaries of EU legislation

Additional information

Commission Notice – Application of the Union’s veterinary medicines acquis in markets historically dependent on medicines supply from or through parts of the United Kingdom other than Northern Ireland 2022/C 494/03