Free flow of data between the EU and the United Kingdom extended until 2031

The European Commission will periodically verify that UK law remains compliant with the GDPR.

In late December 2025, the European Commission renewed the two adequacy decisions allowing the free flow of personal data between the EU and the United Kingdom. Introduced in 2021 after Brexit, they were due to expire on December 27, 2025. They are now valid until December 27, 2031.

An adequacy decision is an act by which the Commission recognizes that a third country ensures a level of personal data protection equivalent to that of the GDPR. This extension will spare companies from having to rely on complex and costly contractual clauses to secure cross-Channel data transfers.

However, it remains subject to periodic review of developments in UK law and its compliance with the GDPR.