The EU is now really counting down to the farewell to the British | NOW

It took some doing, but in the night from Thursday to Friday at 0.00 am (Dutch time) the United Kingdom will say goodbye to the European Union after 48 years. Half-farewell was already said on 31 January of this year, but a transition period of eleven months followed.

Last week, after nine months of laborious negotiations, there was finally white smoke over a trade deal, the Brexit deal. This shapes trade between most of mainland Europe and the island, without the UK as part of the EU.

“Brexit is not an end, but a beginning,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson shortly after his parliament approved the Brexit deal.

When the UK joined the EU in 1973, the country was economically dramatically bad. The wayward Britons have never been a member of the eurozone, the EU countries whose currency is the euro. The British have their pounds.

As of January 1, 2021, they will no longer be part of the internal market, or customs union of the EU. This will undoubtedly lead to hassle at the borders and more administration will usually lead to higher costs, on both sides of the border.

Just like when the UK joined the EU, the country is not doing well from an economic point of view. It is one of the European countries whose economy has been hit hardest by the current corona crisis.

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