Brexit & Beyond newsletter

01 October 2025

Welcome to the 1 October 2025 Brexit & Beyond newsletter

In this week’s edition, we highlight the new EU entry-exit system which comes into force on 12 October. We delve into the European Commission’s consultation on the first review of the 2022 Digital Markets Act and recent media coverage on the 2022 Digital Services Act.  

We take a look at the background and announcements on EU-UK youth mobility from the Chancellor Rachel Reeves at this week’s Labour Party Conference and cover what’s on this week’s agenda for the Assembly and its Committees.   

As always, we appreciate feedback from our readers – so if you have any comments on this edition or have ideas for future content, you can email us at info@brexitandbeyond.niassembly.gov.uk  

*Due to issues with Mailjet our email delivery service, which are beyond our control, distribution of this week’s newsletter is delayed. We apologise for the inconvenience.   

 

EU entry-exit system 

The delayed EU entry-exit system (EES) comes into force on 12 October. This is the digital border system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay to the Schengen area.  Close-up of a visa stamp AI-generated content

The EU says this will modernise border management across the European countries using ESS, make border checks more efficient, combat identity fraud through biometric data collection, improve internal security, and help tackle terrorism and serious organised crime. 

European countries using the EES will introduce the system gradually at their external borders. This means that data collection will be gradually introduced at border crossing points with full implementation by 10 April 2026. 

The Independent reports that Estonia will be the first country to be fully ready, with ESS at air, sea and road frontiers from day one – 12 October.The Republic of Ireland and Cyprus are not within the Schengen area, and therefore EES is not applicable when travelling to either of these countries. 

Speaking to the FT,Yann Leriche, CEO of Eurotunnel, suggested the process would have minimal impact on travellers. He anticipates the scheme should add “a maximum of two minutes” to the 90-minute process of the English Channel.   

The EES applies to you if you are a non-EU national travelling for a short stay to a European country using the EES and you either: 

  • possess a short-stay visa; or  

  • do not need a visa to stay for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period. 

Your travel document data and other personal data will be collected, including your entry and exit dates, and will be registered electronically in the system. This procedure will facilitate your border crossing. 

If you overstay the period allowed in the European countries using the EES, the system will identify you and record this information.  

In the event that the authorities refuse you entry, the system will also record this information. 

The measures outlined are underpinned by Regulation (EU) 2017/2226, which governs the Entry/Exit System for third-country nationals crossing EU borders, and Regulation (EU) 2025/1534, which provides updated legal provisions to ensure operational alignment and data protection safeguards. 

Next year, the EU will introduce the European Travel Information and Authorisation System which builds upon the ESS. This will allow nationals from visa-exempt countries to apply online for authorisation before they travel to European Countries. 

 

The Digital Markets Act 

The European Commission’s consultation on the first review of the Digital Markets Act 2022 (DMA) closed on 24 September.  

The Digital Markets Act (DMA), in force since 2022, is the EU’s law to make the markets in the digital sector fairer and more contestable. The DMA specifies obligations and prohibitions on activity of ‘gatekeepers’ – large digital platforms providing so called core platform services, such as online search engines, app stores, messenger services. The DMA also sets out “clearly defined objective criteria” to identify gatekeepers.  

The EU rules specify that apps and devices made by one company need to work with those made by competitors. 

Responding to the consultation Apple said “The DMA should be repealed while a more appropriate fit for purpose legislative instrument is put in place”.Apple also said, the DMA “is forcing us to make some concerning changes to how we design and deliver Apple products to our users in Europe.” It argues this makes it harder to do business in Europe and has worsened consumers’ experience. 

In its statement, Apple identified the delay of some new features in the EU including live translation with AirPods, iPhone mirroring, and features like Visited Places and Preferred Routes on Maps.  

The FT reports the comments of a European Commission spokesperson who said it was normal that companies sometimes “need more time to make their products compliant” and that the Commission was helping companies to do so. 

They further commented that “DMA compliance is not optional, it’s an obligation”. 

 

The Digital Services Act 

AI generated image of a girl holding a selection of digital icons

The EU Digital Services Act (DSA) entered into force on 16 November 2022, creating new standards for digital services in the EU. According to the European Commission, under the DSA, very large online platforms and search engines are required to assess and mitigate systemic risks associated with the dissemination of illegal content and with consumer protection. 

Last Wednesday (24 September), the European Commission sent requests for information, under the DSA, to Apple, Booking.com, Google and Microsoft on how they identify and manage risks related to financial scams.  

 

 

Youth Mobility

Group of four younger students standing in the foreground of a university

The Independent and The Guardian both reported over the weekend that the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves wants to have “an ambitious youth experience scheme” to allow mobility for under-30s in and out of the UK. Speaking directly to The Times, the Chancellor underlined that the scheme would be: “…good for the economy, good for growth and good for business.” The BBC further noted that the Chancellor had called for the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) to factor the potential economic impact of such a scheme into its forecasts ahead of this Autumn’s Budget.  

While the EU proposed the introduction of a reciprocal youth mobility scheme back in April 2024, this was rejected by the then Prime-Minister, Rishi Sunak. However, the creation of a new scheme was a key discussion topic at the UK-EU summit in May. The subsequent ‘Common Understanding’ document, highlighted that the European Commission and the United Kingdom should work towards a balanced youth experience scheme on terms to be mutually agreed.  

While a time-frame is yet to be set, the Cabinet Office did issue an Explanatory Memorandum (EM) at the end of August authorising the opening of negotiations for an agreement on a youth experience scheme.  

Addressing the issue at the Labour Party conference on Tuesday, the Chancellor stated that the government is: “… working with the European Union to secure for young people in Britain the maximum economic and cultural opportunities available through an ambitious agreement on youth mobility.” 

 

This Week’s Assembly Agenda:  

An image of Parliament Buildings taken from its front steps

Brexit and EU related discussions continue in the Assembly this week.  

On Tuesday, the Finance Minister is responded to questions in relation to discussions with the UK Treasury on the Local Growth Fund.  

On Thursday, the Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs will hold its weekly meeting at Carrickfergus Marina, where Members will receive a departmental update on the Farming for Sustainability Innovation Payments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025. The Committee will also hear from the Nature Friendly Farming Network and consider a written departmental update on Fisheries Management Plans. An audio recording of this week’s meeting will be available on Friday.   

Meanwhile, the Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee is also scheduled to meet on Thursday, when Members will receive a briefing from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). You may recall that just before summer recess, the FSB also briefed the Assembly’s Economy  Committee on its report  ‘Windsor Framework Realities - Barriers to trade in the UK Internal Market’ which presented the findings of a UK-wide business survey. You can catch-up on that meeting here and watch the Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee meeting live on Thursday as well as both Monday and Tuesday’s plenary sessions via https://niassembly.tv/  

 

In case you missed it... 

Image of a dictionary with a magnifying glass hovering over the word news

  • On 12 September, The Guardian Podcast featured an interview with the UK Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, about Brexit and the UK’S relationship with the European Union. 

  • The UK academic think tank, UK in a Changing Europe issued a new blog post UK-EU negotiations: a tricky road ahead where Joël Reland argues that, though the UK government has made significant progress in rebuilding relations with the EU, the next phase of negotiating a new set of economic agreements could prove more difficult. In a further blog post: ‘How the new globalisation affects UK-EU relations’,  David Henig considers how the UK’s relationship with the EU might be impacted by changes in the global order. 

  • UK in a Changing Europe in conjunction with the Resolution Foundation published its Policy landscape 2025 - UK in a changing Europe which considers UK-EU relations and identifies key issues for the Autumn agenda including the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and the Emissions Trading System (ETS) agreements, a Youth Mobility Scheme, Security Action for Europe (SAFE) Fund Access and the trade relationship reset. 

  • A news post from the Treasury reports on the Chancellor’s meeting in Copenhagen with finance ministers from European countries, Canada and Ukraine to talk about defence, trade and investment.  

  • You may also be interested in a new guide launched today by the Social Change Initiative in association with the Human Rights Centre at Queen’s University Belfast and the Donia Human Rights Centre at the University of Michigan.  The guide focusses on the International Enforcement Mechanisms for Article 2 of the Windsor Framework.