The United Kingdom has finally left the European Union. Britain could have left the Union on 29 March 2019 but UK Conservative MPs voted against BREXIT three times leading to the resignation of then Prime Minister, Theresa May.
A public vote (known as a referendum) was held in June 2016, when 17.4 million people opted for Brexit. This gave the Leave side 52%, compared with 48% for Remain.
BREXIT has now just entered into a transition period is meant to give both sides some breathing space while a new free trade agreement is negotiated.
Aside from trade, many other aspects of the future UK-EU relationship will also need to be decided. For example:
- Law enforcement, data sharing and security
- Aviation standards and safety
- Access to fishing waters
- Supplies of electricity and gas
- Licensing and regulation of medicines
Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists the transition period will not be extended, but the European Commission has warned that the timetable will be extremely challenging.
Watch the video below.