European Parliament overwhelmingly approves Brexit divorce deal
Lawmakers in the European Parliament on Wednesday supported an agreement for the U.K. to leave the European Union, paving the way for the country’s departure from the bloc on Friday and fulfilling the outcome of its June 2016 referendum on EU membership.
The Brexit formalities will be complete once the European Council, the body representing the 27 remaining EU member states, informs the U.K. it has ratified the agreement, expected on Thursday afternoon in Brussels. EU leaders agreed the deal with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson last October, reports The Wall Street Journal.
EU lawmakers approved the agreement by 621 votes to 49, with most mainstream parties voting in favor. Thirteen lawmakers abstained. After the vote, hundreds of EU lawmakers stood holding hands in the chamber, singing “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish folk tune that celebrates past friendships.
The vote was one of the final acts of Britain’s 73 EU lawmakers who step down when Britain’s 47-year membership of the bloc ends Friday midnight.
Many EU lawmakers expressed regret that Britain was leaving the bloc, with some, like former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, predicting the U.K. would rejoin one day. Several pro-European British lawmakers were in tears as they spoke.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen thanked the many British officials and lawmakers who had worked in the EU during Britain’s near half-century of membership.
“We will miss you, but we will always keep up our friendship with you,” she said. “We want to forge a close partnership.”
There were no tears from Nigel Farage, who championed Britain’s exit from the bloc. He ended his two-decade tenure in the EU parliament with his farewell speech cut-off when he started waving a miniature British flag, contravening rules on displaying national flags in the debating chamber. Fellow Brexit Party lawmakers cheered “hip-hip hooray” before marching out together.
“What happens at 11 p.m. this Friday 31st January 2020 marks the point of no return,” Mr. Farage said in his speech. “Once we’ve left, we are never coming back and the rest-frankly-is detail.”
While the European Parliament was always expected to back the agreement, leading EU lawmakers have said they would closely monitor Britain’s implementation of the deal, specifically the U.K.’s treatment of the three million EU citizens who live in Britain.
Mr. Johnson’s government will need to keep the European Parliament on his side. Its support will almost certainly be required for Britain to wrap up a trade deal with the EU by year’s end, a deadline the British premier has said won’t be extended.
British officials say they are eager to get those negotiations started as soon as possible. EU member states are still agreeing their red lines for those talks, where the bloc will demand British adherence to many EU laws and standards in return for the U.K. receiving zero tariff, zero quota access to EU markets and vice versa.
