After months of negotiations, the European Union and the United Kingdom have reached a deal on a transition period that will follow Britain's departure from the continental bloc. The union's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, and his British counterpart, David Davis, announced the agreement during a joint press conference on March 19. The transition period will start March 2019, once the United Kingdom has formally made its Brexit, and will end December 2020. During that time, the United Kingdom will remain a member of the EU single market, the area where goods, services, people and capital move freely. But crucially for London , the British government will be allowed to negotiate free trade agreements with non-EU countries once the transition period starts.