Britain's House of Commons has given final approval to the bill authorizing the country's departure from the European Union, paving the way for Brexit at the end of the month.
Last Updated Thursday, January 9, 2020 1:48PM ESTBRUSSELS -- Britain passed a long-elusive milestone on the road to Brexit on Thursday when the House of Commons approved a bill authorizing the country's departure from the European Union at the end of the month.
After passing through Parliament's unelected House of Lords -- which can delay but not overturn the result in the Commons -- the bill should become law in time for the U.K. to leave the EU on the scheduled date of Jan. 31 and become the first nation ever to quit the bloc. Thursday's vote was a major victory for Johnson, who has made delivering Brexit the key aim of his premiership. Britain voted narrowly to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum. But before the Dec. 12 election, lawmakers repeatedly defeated attempts by both Johnson and predecessor Theresa May to secure backing for their Brexit blueprints.
Despite Johnson's repeated promise to "get Brexit done" on Jan. 31, the departure will only mark the start of the first stage of the country's EU exit. Britain and the EU will then launch into negotiations on their future relationship, racing to strike new relationships for trade, security and a host of other areas by the end of 2020.
International trade agreements typically take years to complete, but Johnson has ruled out extending a post-Brexit transition period agreed by the two sides beyond the end of 2020, although the EU has offered to prolong it until 2022. That has set off alarm bells among U.K. businesses, which fear Britain could face a "no-deal" Brexit at the start of 2021. Economists say that would disrupt trade with the EU -- Britain's biggest trading partner -- and plunge the U.K. into recession.
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