The United Kingdom ended its transition from the European Union on 31 December 2020.
At 23:00 GMT on December 31, the BBC and other media broadcast London’s “Big Ben” sound live. At this moment, Brussels, where the EU headquarters is located, and most of the continent of Europe, have entered 2021, which means the end of the 11-month “Brexit” transition period.
“This is a wonderful time for our country,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in his New Year’s speech on the same day. “Freedom is in our hands!”
The British domestic support for the “Brexit” camp celebrates this moment. The front page of the Daily Express is a cliff by the seaside of Dover, England. A British flag says: Freedom. The media’s website has a “Brexit” live broadcast column, which reads “Brexit” happy.
The anti-Brexit camp in Britain is worried about the future of the country. The Independent wrote: “Is it decoupled or drifting?”
Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish government’s chief minister who supports staying in Europe, directly “sends” the EU on social media: “Europe, Scotland will come back soon. Keep the light.
In his New Year’s message, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Britain “still remains our neighbors and friends and allies”.
“It’s divorce … there’s nothing to celebrate,” Michelle Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator in charge of Brexit, told the media, “no one has ever convinced me that ‘Brexit’ has more benefits.”
Towards the end of the “Brexit” transition, French citizen François Graffin boarded the Eurostar train to London, England, in Paris. He wants to seize the “aftercare” of his life in London and return to France to live.” My heart is broken. Graffin said.
