Farage predicts end of EU as he says farewell to Brussels
Politician insists Britain is never coming back in flag-waving departure
BREXIT COULD mark the beginning of the end for the European Union, Nigel Farage said in his farewell speech in Brussels.
Speaking before the European Parliament backed Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement paving the way for Brexit at 11pm tomorrow, Mr Farage said the UK “is never coming back”.
The Brexit Party leader, who said he would miss his role as “pantomime villain” in the parliament, said leaving the European Union “should be the summit of my own political ambitions”.
But he suggested that Brexit could trigger a wider debate about the future of the EU.
“I’m hoping this begins the end of this project. It’s a bad project, it isn’t just undemocratic it’s antidemocratic.”
Mr Farage and his allies waved Union Flags as he finished his final speech. As he was rebuked from the speaker’s chair for the display, the Brexit Party MEPs gave Mr Farage three cheers.
“This is it, the final chapter, the end of the road, a 47-year political experiment that the British frankly have never been very happy with,” the veteran MEP said.
“What happens at 11pm this Friday, January 31 2020, marks the point of no return, once we’ve left we are never coming back and the rest, frankly, is detail. We are going, we will be gone and that should be the summit of my own political ambitions.”
The president of the European Commission said yesterday that the EU remains determined to forge a “close partnership” with Britain after Brexit. Ursula von der Leyen said in an emotional message to the UK: “We will always love you.”
Addressing the parliament, Mrs von der Leyen said it would only be a “first step”, with negotiations set to start on a trade agreement once Britain is formally out.
“From now on, it’s about our new partnership with the United Kingdom. The negotiations are about to start,” she told MEPs.
“And just to be very clear, I want the European Union and the United Kingdom to stay good friends and good partners.”
She quoted the poet George Eliot, saying: “Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depth of love.” She added: “We will always love you and we will never be far, long live Europe.”
The European Parliament’s Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt said Britain’s departure was a “sad” moment for the EU.
“It is sad to see a country leaving that twice liberated us, has twice given its blood to liberate Europe,” he said.
He predicted, however, that the UK would eventually rejoin, with many British people deeply unhappy at the prospect of leaving. “In the last couple of days, I have received hundreds of mails from British citizens saying they desperately want to stay or return,” he said. “So this vote is not an adieu, this vote, in my opinion, is only an au revoir.” He poured scorn on claims by supporters of Brexit that it would mean Britain recovering its sovereignty
“What is in fact threatening Britain’s sovereignty most – the rules of our single market or the fact that tomorrow they may be planting Chinese 5G masts in the British islands?”
The debate in Brussels follows the completion last week of the passage of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill through the British Parliament at Westminster.
The agreement settles the terms of Britain’s departure, including future citizens’ rights, the arrangements on the Northern Ireland border and the UK’s divorce settlement.
It also allows for an 11-month transition period, during which the UK will continue to follow EU rules while talks take place on a free trade agreement.
Mr Johnson has said he wants a comprehensive deal – covering all aspects of Britain’s future relationship with the EU – by the end of the year.