“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 to approve the Brexit withdrawal deal,
preparing the way for a vote of all European
lawmakers in Brussels next week.
“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, U.K. 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.
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
U.K. 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.
Image: Hollie Adams