Top EU officials sign Brexit deal

Bill becomes law

BRUSSELS, Jan 25, (AP): The leaders of two of the European Union’s main institutions on Friday signed the divorce agreement governing Britain’s departure from the bloc next week, sealing the penultimate step in Brexit at a ceremony held without media access.

European Council President Charles Michel tweeted photos of the overnight signing with the president of the EU’s powerful executive commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in the presence of their Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

Both institutions rejected repeated media demands for access to what is a small but legally significant step marking the first time a member state has ever left the world’s biggest trading bloc. Time stamps on the official photos show that the ceremony took place at around 2 am local time (0100 GMT). “Charles Michel and I have just signed the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU, opening the way for its ratification by the European Parliament,” Von der Leyen tweeted about six hours after the signing.

“Things will inevitably change but our friendship will remain. We start a new chapter as partners and allies,” Michel tweeted in reference to ties with Britain, also hours after the signing ceremony, adding: “I can’t wait to write this new page together.”

Johnson

Present

After the signing, UK and EU officials took the document to London, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson put his own signature on it – also without journalists present.

Britain’s delayed and disputed Brexit bill became law in the country on Thursday, removing the last UK obstacle for it to leave on Jan. 31, more than 3 1/2 years after voters narrowly opted to do so in a June 2016 referendum.

The EU Parliament is expected to ratify the Brexit divorce deal next Wednesday just days before the deadline. It appears a formality after the assembly’s influential constitutional affairs committee voted in favor by a large margin on Thursday.

Britain’s delayed and disputed Brexit bill became law on Thursday, removing the last UK obstacle to the country leaving the European Union in just over a week.

The UK is finally leaving the 28-nation bloc more than 3 1/2 years after voters narrowly opted to do so in a June 2016 referendum – and after interminable rounds of political wrangling.

Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans announced Thursday in the House of Commons that the Withdrawal Agreement Act had received royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II, the final formality in its legislative journey. An identical announcement was made by the speaker of Parliament’s upper House of Lords.

Evans’ brief announcement, which drew cheers of “Hear! Hear!” from some Conservative lawmakers in the Commons, came hours after the bill completed its passage through Parliament late Wednesday by getting approval from the House of Lords.

“At times, it felt like we would never cross the Brexit finish line, but we’ve done it,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

The EU Parliament also must ratify the Brexit divorce deal before Jan 31, Britain’s scheduled departure date. The EU Parliament’s constitutional affairs committee voted by a large margin Thursday to approve the Brexit withdrawal deal, preparing the way for a vote of all European lawmakers in Brussels next Wednesday.

“It’s a historical moment, albeit a somber moment, for us. We deeply regret this outcome,” committee chair Antonio Tajani said after the 23-3 vote.

After years of divorce negotiations between the British government and the EU, UK lawmakers repeatedly defeated attempts by both Johnson and his predecessor Theresa May to finalize Britain’s departure terms with the other 27 nations of the bloc.

Oppositon

That changed when Johnson’s Conservatives won Britain’s Dec 12 election, giving his government the ability to override the objections of opposition parties. Opposition members of the House of Lords battled to amend the withdrawal bill but were overruled by Johnson’s 80-strong majority in the Commons. But deep divisions over Brexit remain. After the royal assent was announced, Scottish National Party lawmaker Ian Blackford said the UK was in a “constitutional crisis” because the legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland did not back the Brexit bill.

“Boris Johnson has trampled over the democratic votes in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff,” Blackford said.

The Scottish National Party says Scotland should hold a referendum on independence from the UK, which Johnson refuses to allow.

Despite Johnson’s repeated promise to “get Brexit done” on Jan 31, the day of departure only marks the start of the country’s EU exit.

Guy Verhofstadt, the leading EU lawmaker on Brexit, said the bloc’s parliament would continue to scrutinize the way Britain implemented the divorce agreement – especially to ensure that the rights of EU citizens living in the UK are protected after Brexit.

In February, Britain and the EU will begin negotiations on their future ties, racing to strike new relationships for trade, security and a host of other areas by the end of 2020.

Johnson insists he won’t agree to any delays in those talks beyond the end of the year. The UK is also keen to begin talks on a free trade deal with the United States, and intends to negotiate simultaneously with the EU and the US.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a deal with Britain was “an absolute priority of President Trump and we expect to complete that within this year.”

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said a trade deal between the two countries shouldn’t be too difficult because their economies are similar.