The Union and the United Kingdom,

RECALLING that the Joint Declaration on the Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Cyprus annexed to the Final Act of the Treaty concerning the Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities provided that the arrangements applicable to relations between the European Economic Community and the Sovereign Base Areas will be defined within the context of any agreement between the Community and the Republic of Cyprus,

CONFIRMING that the arrangements applicable to relations between the Union and the Sovereign Base Areas after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union should continue to be defined within the framework of the Republic of Cyprus' membership of the Union,

TAKING ACCOUNT of the provisions concerning the United Kingdom Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia ("the Sovereign Base Areas") set out in the Treaty concerning the Establishment of the Republic of Cyprus and the associated Exchanges of Notes dated 16 August 1960 ("the Treaty of Establishment"),

CONFIRMING that the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union should not affect the rights and obligations of the Republic of Cyprus under Union law or the rights and obligations of the parties to the Treaty of Establishment,

RECALLING that, from the date of accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the Union, Union law applies in the Sovereign Base Areas only to the extent necessary to ensure the implementation of the arrangements set out in Protocol No 3 on the Sovereign Base Areas of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Cyprus annexed to the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded ("Protocol No 3"),

NOTING the Exchange of Notes between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus concerning the administration of the Sovereign Base Areas, dated 16 August 1960, and the attached Declaration by the United Kingdom Government that one of the main objects to be achieved is the protection of the interests of those resident or working in the Sovereign Base Areas, and considering in this context that those persons should have, to the extent possible, the same treatment as those resident or working in the Republic of Cyprus,

NOTING the commitment of the United Kingdom to preserving the application of the arrangements made pursuant to the Treaty of Establishment whereby the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus administer a wide range of public services in the Sovereign Base Areas, including in the fields of agriculture, customs and taxation,

WHEREAS the Sovereign Base Areas should remain part of the customs territory of the Union after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union,

NOTING the provisions of the Treaty of Establishment regarding customs arrangements between the Sovereign Base Areas and the Republic of Cyprus and in particular those of Part I of Annex F to that Treaty,

NOTING the commitment of the United Kingdom not to create customs posts or other frontier barriers between the Sovereign Base Areas and the Republic of Cyprus and not to establish commercial or civilian seaports or airports,

DESIRING to determine appropriate arrangements for achieving the objectives of the arrangements set out in Protocol No 3 after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union,

CONSIDERING that the arrangements set out in this Protocol should ensure the proper implementation and enforcement of the relevant provisions of Union law in relation to the Sovereign Base Areas after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union,

CONSIDERING that appropriate arrangements need to be laid down as regards the relief and exemptions from duties and taxes that the armed forces of the United Kingdom and associated personnel can maintain after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union,

RECOGNISING that it is necessary to provide for specific arrangements for the checks on goods and persons crossing the external borders of the Sovereign Base Areas, as well as to provide for the terms under which the relevant provisions of Union law apply to the line between the areas in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control and the Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia, as currently provided on the basis of the Protocol No 10 on Cyprus annexed to the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded ("Protocol No 10"),

RECOGNISING that cooperation between the Republic of Cyprus and the United Kingdom is essential to ensure the effective implementation of the arrangements laid down in this Protocol,

CONSIDERING that on the basis of the arrangements laid down in this Protocol, Union law will apply in relation to the Sovereign Base Areas in certain policy areas of the Union following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union,

RECOGNISING the unique arrangements relating to persons living and working in the Sovereign Base Areas under the Treaty of Establishment and the 1960 Declaration and the objective of the consistent application of relevant Union law in both the Republic of Cyprus and the Sovereign Base Areas in order to support those arrangements,

NOTING in this regard that through this Protocol the United Kingdom entrusts the Republic of Cyprus, as a Member State of the Union, with responsibility for implementing and enforcing provisions of Union law in the Sovereign Base Areas as provided for in this Protocol,

RECALLING that the Republic of Cyprus is responsible for the implementation and enforcement of Union law in relation to goods destined for or originating in the Sovereign Base Areas that are entering or leaving through a seaport or airport in the Republic of Cyprus,

UNDERLINING that the arrangements set out in this Protocol are without prejudice to Articles 1 and 2 of the Treaty of Establishment and to the positions of the Republic of Cyprus and the United Kingdom thereon,

CONSIDERING that the arrangements laid down in this Protocol should have the sole purpose of regulating the particular situation of the Sovereign Base Areas and should not apply to any other territory or serve as a precedent,

HAVE AGREED UPON the following provisions, which shall be annexed 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 ("Withdrawal Agreement"):