proposal for a regulation of the european parliament and of the council complementing eu type-approval legislation with regard to the withdrawal of the united kingdom from the union com 2018 397 final the united kingdom on 29 march 2017 submitted the notification of its intention to withdraw from the union pursuant to article 50 of the treaty on european union. this means that unless a ratified withdrawal agreement establishes another date all union primary and secondary law will cease to apply to the united kingdom from 30 march 2019 the withdrawal date . the united kingdom will then become a third country. subject to any transitional arrangement that may be contained in a possible withdrawal agreement the eu legislative framework governing type approval for a number of products will no longer apply to the united kingdom as of the withdrawal date notably directive 2007 46 ec concerning the type-approval of motor vehicles and trailers to be replaced by a regulation which will be applicable as from 1 september 2020 regulation eu no 168 2013 concerning the type-approval of two- and three-wheeled vehicles and quadricycles regulation eu no 167 2013 concerning the type-approval of agricultural and forestry vehicles and regulation eu 2016 1628 concerning the type-approval of engines for use in non-road mobile machinery. this also means that the united kingdom type-approval authority will cease to be an eu type-approval authority and will no longer be able to fulfil any of the powers and obligations of a type-approval authority under eu legislation. manufacturers who obtained approvals in the united kingdom in the past will thus need to obtain new approvals from eu-27 type-approval authorities including for products already in production in order to ensure continued compliance with eu legislation and retain access to the union market. while the legal framework for these products sets procedural requirements harmonising the way in which type-approvals are granted across the eu some safeguards make it difficult for relevant manufacturers to take the necessary measures to ensure regulatory compliance and business continuity after the eu acquis ceases to apply to the united kingdom. this creates significant legal uncertainty for manufacturers with united kingdom type-approvals. the present proposal aims to address this by modifying temporarily and in a very targeted manner the existing rules to allow concerned manufacturers to obtain new eu-27 approvals that replace their existing uk type-approved products. the provisions proposed in the proposal will not lower the requirements regarding the safety or environmental performance of the vehicles systems components or separate technical units. it will not grant any advantages to manufacturers with uk type-approvals compared to manufacturers with eu-27 type-approvals. the initiative will simply allow manufacturers to continue producing their products in compliance with applicable legal requirements without interrupting their existing production which could have caused significant social and economic impacts. in facilitating manufacturers compliance with eu law the initiative will also ensure the protection of consumers and citizens.