EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 27.7.2026
COM(2026) 404 final
2026/0225(NLE)
Proposal for a
COUNCIL DECISION
on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within 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 as regards the adoption of a decision to amend Part I of Annex I to that Agreement
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.Subject matter of the proposal
This proposal concerns the decision establishing the position to be taken on the Union's behalf within 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 1 (‘the Withdrawal Agreement’) in connection with the envisaged adoption of a Decision of the Joint Committee to amend Part I of Annex I to that Agreement.
2.Context of the proposal
2.1.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
The Withdrawal Agreement sets out the arrangements for the orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union and Euratom. The Withdrawal Agreement entered into force on 1 February 2020.
2.2.The Joint Committee
The Joint Committee established under Article 164(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement comprises representatives of the Union and of the United Kingdom. It is co-chaired by the Union and the United Kingdom. Annex VIII to the Withdrawal Agreement lays down the rules of procedure of the Joint Committee. The Joint Committee meets at least once a year or at the request of the Union or the United Kingdom and it sets its meeting schedule and agenda by mutual consent. In accordance with Article 166(3) of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Joint Committee adopts its decisions by mutual consent.
The tasks of the Joint Committee are laid down in Article 164 of the Withdrawal Agreement and consist principally of:
·overseeing the implementation and application of the Agreement directly or through the work of the specialised committees reporting to it;
·adopting decisions and recommendations, including amendments to the Agreement in the cases provided therein;
·preventing problems and resolving disputes that may arise regarding the interpretation and application of the Agreement.
2.3.The envisaged act of the Joint Committee
During its next meeting, the Joint Committee is to adopt a decision amending Part I of Annex I on social security coordination of the Withdrawal Agreement (‘the envisaged act’). Pursuant to Article 36(4) of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Joint Committee should adopt a decision amending Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement to reflect any new Decision or Recommendation approved by the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems.
The purpose of the envisaged act is to list in Part I of Annex I four new Decisions approved by the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems and to delete two previous Decisions that have been replaced by two of the new Decisions.
The envisaged act will become binding on the Parties in accordance with Article 166(2) of the Withdrawal Agreement, which provides: ‘The decisions adopted by the Joint Committee shall be binding on the Union and the United Kingdom, and the Union and the United Kingdom shall implement those decisions. They shall have the same legal effect as this Agreement.’. In accordance with Rule 9 of the Rules of Procedure of the Joint Committee and Specialised Committees, decisions adopted by the Joint Committee will specify the date at which they take effect.
3.Position to be taken on the Union's behalf
3.1. Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement on social security coordination
Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement contains the decisions and recommendations of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems of which the Union and the United Kingdom must take due account when applying the social security coordination rules (Article 31(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement).
On 21 June 2023, the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems approved Decision No H14 concerning the publication of the Guidance note on COVID-19 pandemic, the note on the interpretation of the application of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and Articles 67 and 70 of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Guidance note on telework applicable for the period between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023 and the Guidance note on telework applicable from 1 July 2023. This Decision should be added in Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement.
On 14 March 2024, the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems approved Decision No E8 concerning the establishment of a change management procedure applying to details of the bodies defined in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council which are listed in the electronic directory which is an inherent part of EESSI (Electronic Exchange of Social Security Information). This Decision should be added in Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement. This Decision replaces Decision No E2 of 3 March 2010 concerning the establishment of a change management procedure applying to details of the bodies defined in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council which are listed in the electronic directory which is an inherent part of EESSI. Decision No E2 will therefore be deleted from Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement.
On 27 June 2024, the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems approved Decision No H 15 concerning the methods of operation and the composition of the Technical Commission for Data Processing of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems. This Decision should be added in Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement. This Decision replaces Decision No H10 of 21 October 2020 concerning the methods of operation and the composition of the Technical Commission for Data Processing of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems. Decision No H10 will therefore be deleted from Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement.
On 16 October 2024, the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems approved Decision No S12 concerning the reimbursement of healthcare in connection to patients’ transfer to another Member State in case of mass casualties following disasters. This Decision should be added in Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement.
It is therefore necessary to establish the position to be taken by the Union within the Joint Committee with regard to listing in Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement the above mentioned four new Decisions of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems and to deleting two previous above mentioned Decisions that have been replaced by two of the new Decisions.
4.Legal basis
4.1.Procedural legal basis
The Joint Committee is a body set up by an agreement, namely the Withdrawal Agreement.
The act which the Joint Committee is called upon to adopt has legal effects, because it will produce legal effects under the Withdrawal Agreement for the Union. The envisaged act will be binding on the Parties in accordance with Article 166(2) of the Withdrawal Agreement.
The envisaged act does not supplement or amend the institutional framework of the Withdrawal Agreement.
Therefore, the procedural legal basis for the proposed decision is Article 218(9) TFEU.
4.2.Substantive legal basis
The main objective and content of the envisaged act relate to amending Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement to list four new Decisions approved by the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems and to delete two previous Decisions that have been replaced by two of the new Decisions.
The conclusion of the Withdrawal Agreement was based on Article 50(2) TEU.
Therefore, the substantive legal basis of the proposed decision is Article 50(2) TEU.
4.3.Conclusion
The legal basis of the proposed decision should be Article 50(2) TEU, in conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU.
5.Publication of the envisaged act
As the act of the Joint Committee will amend Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement, it is appropriate to publish it in the Official Journal of the European Union after its adoption.
2026/0225 (NLE)
Proposal for a
COUNCIL DECISION
on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within 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 as regards the adoption of a decision to amend Part I of Annex I to that Agreement
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 50(2) thereof, in conjunction with Article 218(9) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
Whereas:
(1)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 2 (the ‘Withdrawal Agreement’) was concluded by the Union by means of Council Decision (EU) 2020/135 3 .
(2)Pursuant to Article 36(4) of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Joint Committee set up by the Withdrawal Agreement is able to adopt decisions to amend Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement to reflect any new Decision or Recommendation approved by the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems.
(3)The Joint Committee, during its next meeting, is scheduled to adopt a decision pursuant to Article 36(4) of the Withdrawal Agreement to amend Part I of Annex I thereto to add four new Decisions approved by the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems to the list set out therein and to delete from that list two Decisions that have been replaced by two of the new Decisions.
(4)The envisaged decision of the Joint Committee will, if adopted, produce legal effects for the Union.
(5)It is therefore necessary to establish the position to be taken within the Joint Committee with regard to the adoption of a decision to amend Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The position to be taken on the Union's behalf within the Joint Committee established by Article 164(1) 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 (the ‘Joint Committee’) shall be based on the draft decision of the Joint Committee attached to this Decision.
Article 2
Minor technical changes to the position set out in the draft decision of the Joint Committee attached to this Decision may be agreed upon without a further decision of the Council.
Article 3
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.
Done at Brussels,
For the Council
The President
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Brussels, 27.7.2026
COM(2026) 404 final
ANNEX
to the
Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION
on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union within 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 as regards the adoption of a decision to amend Part I of Annex I to that Agreement
DRAFT
DECISION No …/2026 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 …
amending Part I of Annex I 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
THE JOINT COMMITTEE,
Having regard 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 1 (the ‘Withdrawal Agreement’), and in particular Article 36(4) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)Article 36(4) of the Withdrawal Agreement empowers the Joint Committee established under Article 164(1) thereof (the ‘Joint Committee’) to adopt decisions amending Part I of Annex I to that Agreement, to reflect any new Decision or Recommendation approved by the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems. Pursuant to Article 166(2) of the Withdrawal Agreement, the decisions adopted by the Joint Committee are binding on the Union and the United Kingdom. The Union and the United Kingdom must implement such decisions, which shall have the same legal effect as the Withdrawal Agreement.
(2)In the interest of legal certainty, Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement should be amended by adding four decisions of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems and by deleting two decisions which were replaced by two of the new decisions,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Part I of Annex I to the Withdrawal Agreement is amended as follows:
(1)The following act is added under “Electronic Data Exchange (E series)”:
—Decision No E8 of 14 March 2024 concerning the establishment of a change management procedure applying to details of the bodies defined in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council which are listed in the electronic directory which is an inherent part of EESSI 2 ;
(2)The following acts are added under “Horizontal issues (H series)”:
—Decision No H14 of 21 June 2023 concerning the publication of the Guidance note on COVID-19 pandemic, the note on the interpretation of the application of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and Articles 67 and 70 of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 during the COVID -19 pandemic, the Guidance note on telework applicable for the period between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023 and the Guidance note on telework applicable from 1 July 2023 3 ;
—Decision No H 15 of 27 June 2024 concerning the methods of operation and the composition of the Technical Commission for Data Processing of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems 4 ;
(3)The following act is added under “Sickness (S series)”:
—Decision No S12 of 16 October 2024 concerning the reimbursement of healthcare in connection to patients’ transfer to another Member State in case of mass casualties following disasters 5 ;
(4)The following act under “Electronic Data Exchange (E series)” is deleted:
—Decision No E2 of 3 March 2010 concerning the establishment of a change management procedure applying to details of the bodies defined in Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council which are listed in the electronic directory which is an inherent part of EESSI 6 ;
(5)The following act under “Horizontal issues (H series)” is deleted:
—Decision No H10 of 21 October 2020 concerning the methods of operation and the composition of the Technical Commission for Data Processing of the Administrative Commission for the Coordination of Social Security Systems 7 .
Article 2
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its adoption.
Done at …,
For the Joint Committee
The Co-chairs