Exiting the EU
On 1 January 1973 the UK joined the European Economic Community, which has since evolved to become today’s European Union. As part of its membership, the UK became part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which has underpinned UK agricultural policy since.
	On 17 December 2015 the European Union Referendum Act 2015 received Royal Assent. The Act made provision for holding a referendum in the UK and Gibraltar on whether the UK should remain a member of the EU. The referendum was then held on 23 June 2016 and resulted in a 52% vote to leave the European Union.
	The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 received Royal Assent on 16 March 2017. On 29 March 2017, the Prime Minister gave notification of withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union under Article 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union.
	In October 2019 the UK and European Council concluded negotiations on the WA. Article 137 of that WA (as was also the case in the November 2018 WA) stipulates that Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013, which is the basic act governing Direct Payments to farmers, does not apply in the UK for claim year 2020 (save for Article 13).