Brexit arrives at last in historic yet subdued moment

BRUSSELS — Friday will mark a truly historic moment, but almost nothing will happen.

A few Union Jack flags will be lowered from European Union buildings in Brussels, more will be waved in jubilation by Brexiteers in London at the moment of Britain’s departure — at 11 p.m. in the United Kingdom.

But for most of the half a billion people in Britain and the bloc, it will be a normal Friday night.

Britain and the bloc fought tooth and nail for the best part of four years — with insults flying across the English Channel — over the terms of their divorce. Now, on the eve of one of the most significant events in European Union history, the political eruptions have ceased and an uneasy quiet reigns: the calm before the next storm.

Both sides are spent and drained from the Brexit fight, and neither has much appetite for an extravaganza to mark the occasion.

The EU would prefer the night to pass without anyone noticing. After all, it is losing one of its biggest members, a diplomatic, military and economic power on a par with Germany and France. The United Kingdom is the first nation ever to turn its back on the EU in the 62year history of this experiment in political union.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke this week of “the agony of parting.”

“We will always love you and we will never be far,” she said at the last session of the European Parliament with British participation.

Even British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, an energetic champion of Brexit, promised a “dignified exit” that is “mindful of everybody’s feelings.”

ArchBrexiteer Nigel Farage and his band of devotees will gather for patriotic songs and speeches in London’s Parliament Square. But Johnson is staying away from triumphalism and won’t be gloating, at least in public. Union Jacks will flutter in the streets around Parliament and buildings will be lit up in red, white and blue. But there won’t be fireworks.

Britain’s Parliament and government were riven by deep divisions over Brexit, pitting “remainers” against “leavers,” and setting those who wanted a sharp break with Europe against factions favoring a softer departure, or even no Brexit at all.