British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a video released on Twitter Friday night that “tonight, we are leaving the European Union.”
Tonight we are leaving the European Union. pic.twitter.com/zZBsrf4BLe
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) January 31, 2020
Johnson vowed to use the UK’s “recaptured sovereignty to deliver the changes people voted for,” referring to a 2016 referendum in which a slight majority of the voters (about 51%) opted to leave the EU while 48% voted to remain.
“The EU evolved, in the past 50 years, in a direction that no longer suits this country,” he said.
He further stated that this moment in British history has more to it than just legal matters, but about a chance to “discover new muscles we have not used for decades.”The UK is the first EU member country to leave the union since its creation in 1993. In Brussels, the Union Jack had been removed from the European council building on Friday, Euronews reported. This is the moment the Union Flag was removed from the EU Council building in Brussels ahead of #Brexit.Follow #BrexitDay live here: https://t.co/n2ud5XhnQ1 pic.twitter.com/1NkEZ3jeDX
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 31, 2020
The UK and the EU were unable to reach a comprehensive agreement on all matters concerning Brexit, as the move came to be called, though sides remain hopeful a solution will be found at some point during 2020.
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