European parliament approves Brexit deal News
pixel2013 / Pixabay
European parliament approves Brexit deal

The European Parliament voted Wednesday to approve the UK’s Brexit deal. This means that Brexit is officially set to take place on January 31, 2020.

The vote passed with 621 votes in favor, 49 against and 13 abstentions. Despite this majority, President David Salossi said, “It deeply saddens me to think that we have come to this point. Fifty years of integration cannot easily be dissolved. We will all have to work hard to build a new relationship, always focusing on the interests and protection of citizens’ rights. It will not be simple.” He went on to explain that the relationship would be hard to forge especially given the time frame but that this was an eventuality that they had been preparing for since Brexit was announced.

The withdrawal will be put to a final vote before they enter a transition period to expire at the end of the year, where they will work on forging the UK-EU relationship going forward. In the case that no agreement is reached they can extend the period, but that must be done by July 1, 2020.