Recital (46)

On 1 February 2020, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the United Kingdom) withdrew from the Union. 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) was concluded between the Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom, of the other part. It was approved by Council Decision (EU) 2020/135 on 30 January 2020, and entered into force on 1 February 2020. The Withdrawal Agreement provided for a transition period which ended on 31 December 2020. At the end of the transition period, Union law ceased to apply to the United Kingdom, whilst the Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland (the Windsor Framework), which forms an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement, became applicable. In accordance with Article 5(4) of the Windsor Framework and point 7 of Annex 2 to the Windsor Framework, Regulation (EC) No 816/2006, as well as legal acts of the Union implementing, amending or replacing that legal act, apply to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland. Considering that the amendments to Regulation (EC) No 816/2006 would be applicable to and in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland in accordance with the Windsor Framework and that the competent authorities of the United Kingdom should continue to exercise their responsibility for issuing compulsory licences in respect of Northern Ireland, it is appropriate to stipulate that the procedure for granting a Union compulsory licence, and a Union compulsory licence granted under that Regulation, should not apply to or in the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland. However, the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland should ensure that the products manufactured under such a licence are not reimported into the territory of the Union or Northern Ireland, in accordance with Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 816/2006, and should take necessary actions to that end in accordance with Article 14 of that Regulation.