The European Commission has published an updated version of the Guidance on Article 10 (10) of RED (Directive 2014/53/EU) where they refer to the transition period in which the UK will be leaving the EU and how until that date (31 December 2020), EU law in its entirety applies to and in the United Kingdom, however after the transition period has finished, the reference to the United Kingdom and the abbreviation “UK” can no longer be included, for the purposes of Article 10 (10) of the RED, with respect to products placed on the EU market as of 1 January 2021. With respect to Northern Ireland, if there are restrictions on putting into service or any requirements for authorization of use, as provided for in Article 10 (10) of the RED, the abbreviation “UK(NI)” shall be used on products placed on the EU market as of 1 January 2021.
As regards products placed on the market in the EU or the United Kingdom before the end of the transition period but not yet delivered to their end-user, Article 41(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement provides that those products may be further made available on the market of the EU or of the United Kingdom and circulate between these two markets until they reach their end-user. Hence, any individual product meeting those conditions can continue to bear the abbreviation “UK” when further made available or used in the EU, even after the end of the transition period.