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LONDON: Brexit comes true on Thursday (December 31) as Britain abandons the customs union and Europe’s single market, ending nearly half a century of often turbulent ties with its closest neighbors.
The UK’s tortuous exit from the European Union takes full effect when Big Ben hits 11pm. In central London (Friday 7AM Singapore Time), just as most of the European mainland ushers in 2021 at midnight.
Brexit has dominated British politics since the country’s narrow vote to leave the bloc in June 2016, opening deep political and social wounds that still remain open.
Legally, Britain left on January 31, but has been in a stalled transition period during difficult talks towards a secure free trade deal with Brussels, which was finally closed on Christmas Eve.
Once the transition is complete, the EU rules will no longer apply, and the immediate consequence will be the end of the free movement of more than 500 million people between Britain and 27 EU states.
Customs border controls will return for the first time in decades, and despite the free trade agreement, queues and disruptions are expected for additional paperwork.
READ: UK parliament approves Brexit trade deal with EU as both sides look to the future
SYMBOLIC OUTPUT
Britain, a great financial and diplomatic success and a major NATO power, is the first member state to leave the EU, which was created to forge unity after the horrors of World War II.
The EU has lost 66 million people and an economy valued at $ 2.85 trillion, but Brexit, with its appeal for nationalist populism, also sparked fears that other disgruntled members might follow suit.
The leaders of both London and Brussels expressed their desire to draw a line.
“It has been a long road. It is time to leave Brexit behind. Our future is made in Europe,” said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, when signing the trade pact.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Brexit was designed to resolve “the old, tired and controversial issue of Britain’s political relations with Europe, which has plagued our post-war history.”
Thursday “marks a new beginning in the history of our country and a new relationship with the EU as its greatest ally,” he said after the British parliament voted in favor of the trade deal.
“This moment has finally come and now is the time to seize it.”
READ: Brexit raises fears of food and drug supply disruption
NEW BEGINNING
Unlike in January, when flag-waving Brexit supporters led by former populist anti-EU lawmaker Nigel Farage cheered and pro-EU “remnants” cried, no formal events are planned for the end of the transition.
Public gatherings are banned due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has claimed more than 72,000 lives and infected more than 2.4 million in Britain, including Johnson himself.
But Johnson is looking not only towards a future free from COVID-19, but also from the rules laid down in Brussels, as Britain forges its own path for the first time since joining the former European Economic Community in 1973.
On Wednesday, he hailed the regulatory approval of the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, and a “new beginning” for a prosperous and more globally focused Britain.
In addition to guaranteeing duty-free and quota-free access to the EU’s 450 million consumers, Britain has recently signed trade agreements with countries such as Japan, Canada, Singapore and Turkey.
He is also considering another with India, where Johnson plans to make his first major trip as prime minister next month, and with the administration of incoming US President Joe Biden.
READ: Comment: EU fulfills its mission to limit the damage of Brexit
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
In the short term, all eyes will be closer to home and on how life outside the EU unfolds in practical terms.
That includes disruptions at ports, which have stoked fears of food and medicine shortages, as well as delays for tourists and business travelers used to traveling smoothly in the EU.
British fishermen are unhappy with the commitment to allow continued access to EU vessels in British waters.
The key financial services sector is also facing anxious wait to find out on what basis it can continue to deal with Europe, having been largely omitted from the trade deal.
Northern Ireland’s border with EU member state Ireland will be closely watched to ensure movements are not restricted, a key element of the 1998 peace agreement that ended 30 years of violence over British rule. .
And in Scotland, where the majority opposed Brexit, Johnson faces a potential constitutional headache due to a resurgence of the independence movement.
