British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday signed the agreement that will regulate the relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) from January 1.
“By signing this pact, we are fulfilling the sovereign desire of British citizens to live according to their own laws, drafted by their own elected parliament,” Johnson said in a message on Twitter.
The UK government has ratified the treaty with this signing, while the two legislative chambers hope to complete today the process of transferring the commitments made with Brussels to British law.
The House of Commons has already backed the agreement with a comfortable majority – 521 votes in favor and 73 against – and the House of Lords is expected to give its approval in the next few hours.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel signed the text earlier this morning, which was transferred to a British Air Force plane from Brussels to London for Johnson’s signature.
The provisions of the pact will enter into force at the end of the Brexit transition period, tomorrow at 23:00 GMT.
The 1,246 pages of the new treaty cover trade between the two sides of the English Channel, cooperation in areas such as security and the rights of citizens of both territories in 2021, among other issues.