More than three years ago, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Shortly afterwards, the then Prime Minister, Theresa May, said that this meant that the UK would leave the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union.

The current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has confirmed this position. The consequences of these decisions are clear: they create barriers to trade between the EU and the UK that do not exist today.

After two years of painstaking talks, the EU and the UK reached an agreement on operational solutions for a whole range of areas where the UK’s withdrawal creates uncertainty: first, how do we make sure that UK and EU citizens continue to enjoy their existing rights, with strong enforcement mechanisms and life-long guarantees?

What happens to researchers or organisations in the UK that receive EU funding? What should we do after Brexit with the extradition of criminals that began under EU law? How should we make sure that Cypriots living in the UK Sovereign Base Areas continue to enjoy their rights under EU law?

It is now nine months since the 27 EU governments reached an agreement with the UK on the terms of an orderly withdrawal and on the framework for the future relationship. So far, the House of Commons has failed to approve the agreed package. Some MPs voted against it because they do not want Brexit at all, others because they would prefer a “no-deal” outcome.