LONDON: Legislators approved legislation yesterday which will allow Britain to leave the European Union on January 31 with an exit deal, ending more than three years of tumult over the terms of the unprecedented divorce.
They voted 330 to 231 in favour of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill, which implements an exit deal agreed with the EU last year. That allows Prime Minister Boris Johnson to turn the page on one of Britain’s deepest political crises in decades, putting an end to the fears of an immediate disorderly exit which had cast a shadow over the economy and fuelled divisions over the 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU.
“It is time to get Brexit done. This bill does so,” Brexit minister Stephen Barclay told legislators, summing up hours of debate in parliament.
The legislation now heads to parliament’s upper chamber and is expected to become law in the coming weeks, leaving enough time to allow Britain to leave at the end of the month with a deal to minimise economic disruption.
In recent years, financial markets have been mesmerised by the twists and turns of Britain’s Brexit drama, with its acrimonious negotiations in Brussels, knife-edge votes in parliament and heavy defeats for unstable governments.
But after Johnson called a snap election late last year and then won a large majority by promising to deliver Brexit at the end of January, the uncertainty over when and how Britain will leave the EU has largely abated.
The focus has instead turned to upcoming talks on long-term arrangements with the EU that will kick in when a transition period - during which Britain remains subject to EU rules - ends on December 31. Johnson is adamant that the free-trade deal he wants can be negotiated in time, but his EU counterparts are less convinced.
The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, said yesterday a comprehensive agreement on the future relationship between the European Union and Britain will take longer to agree than the 11-month transition period that begins when the UK leaves the EU at the end of January.
“We are ready to do our best and to do the maximum in the 11 months to secure a basic agreement with the UK, but we will need more time to agree on each and every point of this political declaration,” Barnier said in a speech in Stockholm.
Barnier said that given the extremely tight timetable, the EU would have to prioritise over the next months.
First will be building a new capacity to work together with Britain both bilaterally and in global institution to address issues such as climate change and peace in the Middle East.
“The second point is that we need to build a very close security relationship,” Barnier said.