British MEPs leave Brussels for last time as Britain exits EU

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - JANUARY 31: British Members of the European Parliament (MEP) leaves the EU Parliament in Brussels for the last time as the UK will leave the EU on Friday evening (Jan. 31) Brexit party MEP Ann Widdecombe said they was celebrating the beginning of independence. “We believe that Britain can now go forward into the future…Our duty is done…Now we are off,” Widdecombe added. MEPs walked with the UK flags in front of the EU Parliament building. The U.K. will leave the EU Friday evening and a transition period which will end on Dec. 31, 2020 will kick in simultaneously. Everything in terms of trade will remain the same until the end of this period, however, British politicians will no longer be part of the bloc’s decision-making mechanisms. The parties will negotiate a trade deal, which Boris Johnson’s government believes could be achieved by the end of the transition period. The EU has repeatedly said it would be hard and the transition could be extended; however, Johnson government rejected the idea and an article was added in the EU Withdrawal Bill, which has recently been made law, restricting any further extension beyond the end of 2020. The Brexit moment will see a countdown on a clock projected on Number 10 in Downing Street and many Leave campaigners are expected to join street parties in Parliament Square and in main squares in various cities across the country. With the deadline reached at 11:00 p.m. (2300 GMT), the marriage between the U.K. and the EU will end after more than four decades.(Footage by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)