BREXIT GOOD-BYE TO BRITISH MEMBERS

This historic vote took place this Wednesday at 6 p.m. after a two-hour debate with 621 votes in favor, 49 against and 13 abstentions. Brexit will take place.

It was the last major step in ratifying the agreement, three and a half years after the Brexit referendum in the UK.

" It's only a good bye "

On February 1, the United Kingdom leaves the European institutions. More MEPs, more ministers in the Council of the European Union, more European Commissioner. English will certainly remain one of the official languages ​​of the EU, but the 73 British MEPs are no longer allowed to sit from 1 February 2020.

Immediately after the vote, which sealed the departure of British MEPs, a number of elected officials joined hands in the hemicycle and sang the Scottish song "Auld Lang Syne" (This is only a goodbye), some brandishing scarves in the colors of the British and European flags.

"We will always love you and we will never be far", promised European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to departing MEPs during a pre-election debate. "We will miss you," she said. The result was expected, far from the uncertainties that took place during the votes in the last three years in the British parliament in Westminster.

Michel Barnier, EU Brexit negotiator, said he was "very touched, to tell the truth, at the end of this debate which was very moving and serious. The United Kingdom has chosen to leave the Union democratically. We will continue to regret this vote, but we have respected it. If the treaty which is subject to this vote has a quality, it is to organize the departure from the United Kingdom in an orderly manner, "he recalled at the meeting. “Brexit has countless human and social, technical and legal, financial and economic consequences, and it is not over. We with this treaty provide legal guarantees for citizens and their rights. "

First departure from an EU member state

This vote closes a process where the European Union loses for the first time a Member State, which is moreover one of the largest and richest countries in the bloc. With the departure of 66 million inhabitants, the EU will see its population increase to around 446 million. Its territory will decrease by 5.5%.

The transition period which opens will see few concrete changes and launches the negotiations around the future statute of the United Kingdom with the European Union.

A crucial and delicate period since without an agreement reached on December 31, 2020, the country will become a third State and the trade rules instituted by the WTO will have to apply.