Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions from: Citizens

From the effective date of withdrawal, in the event that there is no agreement establishing other conditions, the United Kingdom will become a third country for the purposes of EU roaming rules (Regulation (EU) No 531/2012). This will mean that mobile phone users can stop benefiting from the obligation that their phone providers now have to not apply any roaming surcharges to them, if those providers decide to voluntarily modify their rates or the application of surcharges.

In case of agreement for an orderly withdrawal, the roaming surcharge would not be applied during the so-called transition period. Implementation after the transition period is over will depend on the future relationship agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

In the event that telecom operators do not give sufficient advance notice of possible price changes in roaming rates or telephone calls to or from a fixed or mobile telephone in the United Kingdom, the user may file a claim with the Office of Telecommunications User Support.

As in the case of roaming, from the date of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, the existing regulatory framework would cease to apply. In this case, it will no longer apply the rules leading to the reduction of wholesale voice call termination rates (i.e. the per minute prices charged to each other by operators) for service providers in the European Union, as far as calls between the United Kingdom and any of the Member States are concerned. This may result in increased wholesale termination rates for calls from the EU to the UK, and vice versa. Ultimately, this could mean an increase in fees to end users for such calls, if operators decide to voluntarily modify their fees.

Likewise, the maximum prices per minute of voice (19 cents minute, plus VAT) and SMS (6 cents, plus VAT) in communications between the United Kingdom and the European Union will cease to be valid, unless the operators voluntarily decide.

In the case of an orderly withdrawal agreement, the Union's telephony regulatory framework would continue to apply during the transition period. There would be the possibility of negotiating an agreement on wholesale voice call termination rates and maximum per minute and SMS prices during the transition period.

In the event that telecom operators do not give sufficient advance notice of possible price changes in roaming rates or telephone calls to or from a fixed or mobile telephone in the United Kingdom, the user may file a claim with the Office of Telecommunications User Support​.

From the date of withdrawal, EU rules on the provision of information society services, in particular Directive 2000/31/EC (Electronic Commerce Directive), will no longer apply to the United Kingdom. Despite this, Spanish consumers will continue to be protected by the regulations in force in our country, regardless of the country of origin of their seller or service provider. Thus, it must be taken into account that Law 34/2002, of July 11, on services of the information society and electronic commerce (LSSI), which transposes into Spanish law the provisions of the aforementioned directive, also applies to providers established in a State not belonging to the EU or EEA (therefore, also to the United Kingdom) when they direct their services specifically to Spanish territory. Consequently, United Kingdom websites that direct their services specifically to the Spanish market must continue to comply with the obligations established in the LSSI (by virtue not of the Directive, but of the law itself), as happens with United States or other third country websites to which the Directive does not apply either.

In the case of an orderly withdrawal agreement, the EU regulatory framework for e-commerce would continue to apply during the transition period. The Member States' political declaration has been in favour of an ambitious future relationship agreement that includes provisions relating to e-commerce.

The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union will mean that the audiovisual regulations of the Community framework will no longer apply on British territory. However, the European Convention on Television without Frontiers, ratified by both Spain and the United Kingdom, will remain in force. This means that, under this agreement, linear audiovisual communication services (cable or satellite) may continue their cross-border broadcasts from the United Kingdom to Spain, or vice versa.

However, on-demand audio-visual communication services (video-on-demand or programme catalogue) to/from the United Kingdom, being outside the scope of the European Convention on Television without Frontiers, must cease their broadcasting at the time of actual withdrawal.

In the event of an orderly withdrawal agreement, the Union's audiovisual regulatory framework would continue to apply during the transition period.

Frequently asked questions from: Economic operators

After the effective withdrawal date, in the absence of an agreement establishing other conditions, the United Kingdom will become a third country for the purposes of EU legislation and, therefore, companies introducing goods from the United Kingdom will be considered importers for the purposes of the rules on the marketing of telecommunication equipment. Under EU law, companies have different responsibilities depending on their place in the supply chain (manufacturer, importer, wholesale distributor, etc. ).

This regulation obliges the importer to ensure that the manufacturer has carried out the due process of conformity assessment of the equipment, as well as the inclusion of the CE marking and the importer’s name or registered trademark and postal address, among other obligations. In addition, from that date, the importer must be established in an EU-27 Member State.

For products that are already physically in the distribution chain (p.ej. wholesale store, or physical store) or which are in use by the end-user in an EU-27 state, on the date of withdrawal, are deemed to have been placed on the EU market prior to that date and may therefore continue to be placed on the EU market or remain in use without the need for further conformity assessment, labelling or product modification. This is also valid if the date of the commercial transaction is earlier than the date of withdrawal from the United Kingdom, even if the delivery of the product to the distribution chain or to the end user is later. This does not relieve the obligation to designate a new ‘responsible person’ established in the EU-27 if previously established in the United Kingdom, although it is not necessary to re-label the products with the contact details of that responsible person, it being sufficient that such information be provided by the company to the competent national authorities.

For the export of telecommunication equipment from the EU-27 to the United Kingdom it is recommended to contact the competent authorities of that country.

EU product legislation requires notified bodies to be established in a Member State and designated by a notifying authority of a Member State to carry out conformity assessment tasks. Consequently, in the absence of an agreement establishing other conditions, from the date of withdrawal, notified bodies in the United Kingdom will lose their status as notified bodies in the Union and will not be able to carry out conformity assessment tasks in accordance with the provisions of the regulation concerning telecommunications equipment.

If a company has certificates issued by a notified body in the United Kingdom before the withdrawal date and intends to continue to place the product on the EU market after that date, it will be necessary to request a new certificate issued by a notified body in the EU-27 or to transfer (by a contractual agreement between the manufacturer, the notified body in the United Kingdom and the notified body in the EU-27) the file and the corresponding certificate from the British notified body to the notified body in the EU-27, which would become responsible for such a certificate.

In either of the two options set out in the preceding paragraph, both the EU declaration of conformity and the notified body certificate shall be updated accordingly.

With regard to the marking of the product with the EU-27 notified body identification number, if the product was placed on the EU-27 market before the date of withdrawal or the product was manufactured before the date of obtaining or transferring the certificate, it is not necessary to amend the notified body number on the product, provided that the documentation referred to in the previous paragraph is in order. However, products manufactured after obtaining or transferring the certificate must be marked with the new EU-27 notified body number.

Accreditation is a certification issued by a national accreditation body that a conformity assessment body meets the applicable requirements for carrying out a specific conformity assessment activity. Accreditation is the most appropriate means of demonstrating the technical competence of notified bodies, unless Union product legislation provides otherwise.

From the effective date of withdrawal, in the absence of an agreement establishing other conditions, the UK Accreditation Service shall cease to be a national accreditation body within the meaning and for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008. Their accreditation certificates will therefore cease to be valid or recognised in the EU-27 in accordance with that Regulation from the date of withdrawal.