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The European Union’s secondary law includes several regulations and dispositions concerning the social security rights enjoyed by nationals of the EU Member States, nationals of Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein (as states which are part of the European Economic Area), Switzerland, stateless persons, and refugees who reside in one of these states, as well as citizens from third-party states, if they legally reside on the EU’s territory and have exercised their freedom of movement. As a consequence of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, it has become necessary to clarify the legal status and social security rights that individuals falling into one of the aforementioned categories enjoy, whether they be British citizens whose contributions have been paid in an EU Member State, or citizens of an EU Member State whose contributions have been paid in the UK. The Withdrawal Agreement concluded between the United Kingdom and the European Union covers the cross-border situations in existence at the end of the transition period, which concluded on 31 December 2020. The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU, Euratom, and the UK, which was signed on 30 December 2020, contains provisions regarding the coordination of social security systems between the parties to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, largely borrowing from the existing EU legislation on the matter, but also diverging from it in some aspects. This article will analyse the relevant provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement, those of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, as well as potential legislative changes concerning the coordination of social security systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union on 31 January 2020. On 29 March 2017, the UK practically initiated formally the withdrawal procedure, in accordance with Article 50 TEU, informing the European Council of its intention to leave the European Union. In less than three years, the UK ratified the Withdrawal Agreement, with the purpose that the Agreement would enter into force on 31 January 2020 and, implicitly, produce legal effects. Of all the consequences of this withdrawal, naturally, we will focus on those which have legal implications, being however closely related to all the other effects, about which a lot has been written, and it certainly will be written in the years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first half of 2019 finds the European Union facing two challenges: the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union is held by Romania, one of the newest members of the organisation, while the United Kingdom prepares to withdraw, after being the first state to invoke, in March 2017, Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. Romania assumes this position of great responsibility for the first time since its accession to the EU and finds itself confronted with a task that has raised problems even for other, more experienced, states that have held the Presidency of the Council after the UK notified the EU of its intention to leave. Moreover, March 2019 marks the end of the two-year term provided by Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union for the enforcement of a withdrawal agreement, placing Romania as President of the Council of the EU at the moment when the UK would be expected to officially lose its status as a Member State, unless an extension is agreed upon by the European Council and the UK. In this context, it is important to take note of the progress made in the matter of the UK's withdrawal from the EU, to identify the legal means the Presidency of the Council has at its disposal to ensure that a satisfying solution is reached and to analyse the role that the Romanian Presidency, specifically, plays in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]