The United Kingdom officially seceded economically from the European Union on Thursday at 11pm local time in London.
The official rupture comes after the UK reached an agreement last week defining its economic relationship with the EU in the future, guaranteeing the UK would not stand for a “tough” Brexit without an agreement in January.
The UK’s exit from the EU’s single market marks the country’s biggest economic change since World War II, according to The Associated Press.
“We have our freedom in our hands and it is up to us to make the most of it,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in the New Year’s video, calling it “an incredible time for this country.”
There will be many who will be too happy to say goodbye to the darkness of 2020.
But it was also the year in which we rediscovered a spirit of coexistence, of community.
In 2021 we have our freedom in our hands and it is up to us to make the most of it. Happy New Year! pic.twitter.com/gDRXe2SuCb
– Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 31, 2020
This rupture comes eleven months after the UK officially left the EU and entered a “transition period”.
Although UK closure measures restrict mass meetings, some Brexit supporters rallied outside Parliament to toast the news at 11pm, according to the AP.
The deal announced last week did not set tariffs or quotas in the UK. However, companies and traders will now face customs declarations and border controls.
The agreement also allows each party to use an independent grant control awardee to resolve any dispute.
One of the main provisions for both parties was an agreement on the fishing rights of coastal cities in both the UK and the EU.
Both the UK and the EU agreed to “establish a favorable climate for the development of trade and investment between them”, and the UK said it would introduce new rules on EU fishing in British waters for 5 years and mig.