The EU has brought into force around 19,000 legislative acts which have directly set out much of the legal framework and regulations in the UK.

Some of the most important are around the free movement of people, the competition, intellectual property, and certification rules affecting the products that educational suppliers provide, and the public procurement markets in which companies can compete. 

Uncertainties over people, products and procurement therefore lie at the centre of the Brexit conundrum. Each of these presents its own challenges. 

With regard to people, with over 3 million EU nationals already living in the EU, and thousands of employers needing continued access to labour and skills from the EU to grow, it will be vital for companies to be aware of how the end of the transition is likely to impact both current staff and future hires. 

With regard to the products that companies sell, the UK has already announced an independent trademarks regime which can be challenged, assigned, licensed or renewed separately from the original EU Trademark. The same is true for Registered Community Designs, where a parallel UK regime has also been created, as well as unregistered protection for designs where a UK scheme has now also been created. Companies will also want to know about CE marks, and whether these will need to be replaced with the new UKCA mark from the 1st of January 2021 onwards. 

With the European market for public contracts worth an estimated €1.9 trillion per year, UK businesses seeking these opportunities will also need to consider what changes to access to this market may mean for their financial planning,and learn where to find information to avoid missing opportunities. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the UK will operate under the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) which will give UK businesses some access to EU procurement markets. But how much? Is it true that UK educational supplier will no longer be able to compete for public contracts worth less than €200,000? 

This session will cover each of these issues, providing simple pointers as to the steps businesses may choose to take. 

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