Britain’s departure from the European Union was set in law yesterday, amid emotional scenes, as the bloc’s parliament voted to ratify the divorce papers.
After half a century of sometimes awkward membership and three years of tense withdrawal talks, the UK will leave the EU at midnight Brussels time (2300GMT) tomorrow.
MEPs voted by 621 votes to 49 to pass the withdrawal agreement, which sees Britain leave the EU institutions but remain under most EU rules during a transition until the end of the year.
Following the vote, MEPs burst into a chorus of “Auld Lang Syne”, a traditional Scottish song of farewell.
The transition will see Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government try to negotiate an ambitious — unprecedented in the timeframe — free trade agreement with his 27 former partners remaining in the bloc.
“Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depth of love,” EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the chamber, quoting British author George Eliot.
“We will always love you and we will never be far. Long live Europe.”
In other words, as French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said: “The hardest part lies ahead...we’re going to get down to brass tacks now.”
In the Brussels parliament, many MEPs made it clear that they were voting for the withdrawal deal not out of any support for Brexit, but to avoid the disruption of a chaotic no-deal divorce.
Some expressed real anguish and regret, and pointed to Britain’s role not only in the development of the European unification project but also to its historic battles against tyranny on the continent.
“If we could stop Brexit by voting by voting ‘no’ today I would be the first to recommend it,” former Belgian premier and chairman of the parliament’s Brexit steering group Guy Verhofstadt said.
“It is indeed a sad issue,” he said, turning to the World Wars of the first half of the last century. “We’re sad to see a country leaving that twice liberated us, twice has given its blood to liberate Europe.”
The day began with Britain’s permanent representative to the EU Tim Barrow — from Saturday to be its ambassador — handing back the withdrawal agreement signed by Johnson, to be stored in Brussels.
“This step ensures that the UK has fulfilled its legal obligations regarding our exit from the EU,” the British mission said.
But it was still an emotional day in the European Parliament in Brussels, steeped in a mixture of nostalgia, political carnival and historical metaphor.
Nigel Farage, veteran MEP and leader of Britain’s Brexit Party, was in triumphant mood after two decades as a thorn in Brussels’ side.
After his final speech in parliament, in which he described Brexit as a victory for populism over “globalism”, Farage and his MEPs brandished British flags, in contravention of the rules, then left.
“We’re going to wave you goodbye,” he declared, as deputy speaker Mairead McGuinness cut his microphone.
“If you disobey the rules, you’ll get cut off,” she retorted.