Article 1 
The signing, on behalf of the Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, as adapted, is hereby authorised, subject to the conclusion of the said Agreement. The text of the Agreement, as adapted, is attached to this Decision ( 1 ).
Article 2 
The President of the European Council and the President of the Commission are hereby authorised to sign the Agreement on behalf of the Union and the European Atomic Energy Community.
Article 3 
Immediately after the signature of the Agreement, the Commission shall notify the other parties to the international agreements referred to in point (a)(iv) of Article 2 of the Agreement, that, subject to the entry into force of the Agreement, the United Kingdom is to be treated as a Member State for the purposes of those international agreements during the transition period.
Article 4 
Those Member States that intend to avail themselves of the possibility provided for in the second paragraph of Article 185 of the Agreement shall inform the Commission and the General Secretariat of the Council of their intention to do so before 15 February 2019.
Article 5 
This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.