Brexit. The last hours
After years of political wrangling, two general elections, repeated calls for a second referendums, and deadline extensions, Britain will today be leaving the European Union, ending a near half-century membership.
EU leaders have said that the UK’s future relationship with Brussels will never be as good as membership, as they warned against “splendid isolation”.
With less than 12 hours before the end of Britain’s EU membership, three EU presidents spoke of their ambitions for the future of the club, as they sought to turn the page on three and a half years of Brexit negotiations.
“We know very well that as the sun rises tomorrow a new chapter for our union of 27 will start,” said European commission president Ursula von der Leyen, setting out the EU’s ambitions to confront the climate emergency and the adapt to increasingly rapid digitalisation of the economy. She said the EU had become “a global economic powerhouse” over the last 47 years. “Our experience has taught us that strength does not lie in splendid isolation, but in our unique union. Nowhere else in the world can you find 27 nations of 440m people speaking 24 different languages, relying on each other, working together, living together. This is not by accident or by chance; this is grounded in centuries of shared history, decades of shared experience,” she said. Reiterating the EU’s long-held stance, she added: “We want to have the best possible relationship with the United Kingdom but it will never be as good as membership.”
David Sassoli, the president of the European parliament, said no individual European country “will be able to cope on its own”, facing an array of challenges. “Just list all the issues faced by European countries….security, the environment, the economy, finance, migration - which of these problems could an individual country solve on its own? That is what makes Europe so useful.”
European Council president Charles Michel has labelled today “exceptional” as Britain enters its final hours as a member of the EU. But he highlighted that the UK’s access to EU markets would be more restricted once the country has left. “Today is an exceptional day for the European Union and today probably we have mixed feelings,” he said. “It’s never a happy moment when someone leaves but we are opening a new chapter. “And we will devote all our energy to building a stronger and more ambitious European Union.” Addressing a news conference in Brussels he added: “The more the UK will diverge from the EU standards, the less access to the single market it will have,” he told a news conference in Brussels.
Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, says Britain’s departure from the EU today is “bittersweet” and that he is looking forward to a “new alliance, a bespoke relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom”. He said: “When I met with Michel Barnier on Monday we were united in our belief that we will begin this new phase determined to secure the best outcome for the European Union and our future. “We’ll say goodbye to an old friend embarking on an adventure, their own tryst of destiny. We do hope it works out for them. But if it was not there will always be a seat for the United Kingdom, at the European table.” Varadkar added: “The next step is to negotiate future relationships, including a free trade agreement, between the EU including Ireland and the United Kingdom that protects jobs, businesses, rural and coastal communities, and our economies generally. “The UK would like to see a trade deal this year and it’s possible, particularly if the new trade deal is very similar to the current arrangements. It will be difficult though.” But he made clear he is confident a “good” deal can be reached.
“We want free trade with the UK with no tariffs, no quotas, as little bureaucracy and as few checks as possible,” he said. “I am adamant that our future partnership with UK must go beyond trade. It needs to cover a broad range of issues, including fisheries, universities, co-operation on research and economics generally.”
Nicola Sturgeon has told SNP activists they must remain “focused and resolute”, as a new poll puts yes in the lead – by 51-49 – for the first time since 2015. She insisted she was being practical, rather than cautious, and that she was not in the business of empty gestures. She said she would not pursue any legal action around holding a second referendum yet - though would not rule it out for the future. The ‘next steps’ which she set out this morning are all focused on building greater support amongst the voting public for independence. She also threw out a challenge to her activists to concentrate on persuading those who were closer to changing their minds now, rather than letting the Tories turn the independence debate into “an arid and bitter argument about process and procedure”. She said that she would ask the Electoral Commission to test the question for another independence referendum - the next step in the process set down by the Scottish parliament for setting up a new poll - as well as setting up a new constitutional convention to marshal support from civic Scotland, and publishing an updated White Paper with more detail on the case for independence. The sadness of leaving the EU will be “tinged with anger” in Scotland, says first minister Nicola Sturgeon. Speaking in Edinburgh where she is outlining the “next steps for Scotland’s future”, Sturgeon said: “But that’s not what I want to do today. Instead I want to focus on something much, much more important: Hope. “Hope for a better future. A future in which our path as a country is determined by the people who live here.”
Ireland is braced for a series of protests along its border with Britain to mark Brexit day. Anti-Brexit campaigners are also set to hold demonstration at Stormont later this afternoon, while supporters of the country’s departure from the EU will celebrate at the gates of Northern Ireland’s devolved government in the evening. Campaign group Border Communities Against Brexit will hold protests at six points along the border. Meanwhile, Union Jacks will be waved and toasts made by Brexit supporters at Stormont.
The Daily Record declares Scotland has been “short changed”, with a mocked up version of the infamous Brexit coin inscribed with the words: “Isolated, worse off, weaker and divided.”
