![\"\"](\"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/EU-UK.jpg\")
Britain on Friday ended almost half a century of European Union membership, making a historic exit after years of bitter arguments to chart its own uncertain path in the world. There were celebrations and tears across the country as the EU\u2019s often reluctant member became the first to leave an organisation set up to forge unity among nations after the horrors of World War II.<\/p>\n
Thousands of people waving Union Jack flags packed London\u2019s Parliament Square to mark the moment of Brexit at 11 pm (2300 GMT) \u2014 midnight in Brussels. \u201cWe did it!\u201d declared Nigel Farage, the former member of the European Parliament who has campaigned for Brexit for years, before the crowd began singing the national anthem. It was a largely good-natured gathering, aside from one Brexit supporter who earlier set an EU flag alight.<\/p>\n
But Brexit has exposed deep divisions in British society, and many fear the consequences of ending 47 years of ties with their nearest neighbours. Some pro-Europeans, including many of the 3.6 million EU citizens who made their lives in Britain, marked the occasion with solemn candlelit vigils.<\/p>\n
Brexit has also provoked soul-searching in the EU about its own future after losing 66 million people, a global diplomatic big-hitter and the clout of the City of London financial centre.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Not an end, a beginning\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
In an address to the nation, Prime Minister Boris Johnson \u2014 a figurehead in the seismic 2016 referendum vote for Brexit \u2014 acknowledged there might be \u201cbumps in the road ahead\u201d. But he said Britain could make it a \u201cstunning success\u201d. As he held a private party in his Downing Street office, a clock projected on the walls outside counted down the minutes until Brexit.<\/p>\n
Johnson predicted a \u201cnew era of friendly cooperation\u201d with the EU while Britain takes a greater role on the world stage. \u201cThe most important thing to say tonight is that this is not an end but a beginning,\u201d he said in a televised address.<\/p>\n
EU institutions earlier began removing Britain\u2019s red, white and blue flags in Brussels ahead of a divorce that German Chancellor Angela Merkel called a \u201csea-change\u201d for the bloc. French President Emmanuel Macron described it as a \u201chistoric warning sign\u201d that should force the EU and its remaining nations of more than 440 million people to stop and reflect.<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s departure was sealed in an emotional vote in the EU parliament this week that ended with MEPs singing \u201cAuld Lang Syne\u201d, a traditional Scottish song of farewell. Almost nothing will change straight away, because of an 11-month transition period negotiated as part of the exit deal.<\/p>\n
Britons will be able to work in and trade freely with EU nations until December 31, and vice versa, although the UK will no longer be represented in the bloc\u2019s institutions. But legally, Britain is out.<\/p>\n
And while the divorce terms have been agreed, Britain must still strike a deal on future relations with the EU, its largest trading partner. Both will set out their negotiating positions Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to have the best possible relationship with the United Kingdom, but it will never be as good as membership,\u201d European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Goodbye & good luck\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
Getting this far has been a traumatic process. Britain resisted many EU projects over the years, refusing to join the single currency or the Schengen open travel area, and eurosceptics have long complained about Brussels bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Worries about mass migration added further fuel to the Brexit campaign while for some, the 2016 vote was a chance to punish the government for years of cuts to public spending. But the result was still a huge shock.<\/p>\n
It unleashed political chaos, sparking years of toxic arguments that paralysed parliament and forced the resignations of prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May.<\/p>\n
Johnson brought an end to the turmoil a decisive election victory in December which gave him the parliamentary majority he needed to ratify his Brexit deal. But Britons remain as divided as they were nearly four years ago, when 52 percent voted to leave and 48 percent voted to remain in the EU.<\/p>\n
\u201cRise and shine\u2026 It\u2019s a glorious new Britain\u201d said the Brexit-supporting Daily Express. The i newspaper, in contrast, headlined: \u201cWhat next?\u201d In Scotland, where a majority voted to stay in 2016, Brexit has revived calls for independence.<\/p>\n
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: \u201cScotland will return to the heart of Europe as an independent country \u2014 #LeaveALightOnForScotland.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Northern Ireland \u2014 soon to be the new EU frontier \u2014 there are fears Brexit could destabilise a hard-won peace after decades of conflict over British rule. Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney tweeted: \u201cGoodbye & good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Glad it\u2019s over\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
Johnson, a polarising figure accused of glossing over the complexity of leaving the EU, made no public appearance on Friday and avoided any official celebrations that might exacerbate divisions.<\/p>\n
He hosted a special cabinet meeting in the northeastern city of Sunderland, which was the first to declare for Brexit in 2016, while Downing Street was lit up in the colours of the Union Jack flag. Millions of commemorative 50 pence coins have also been issued.<\/p>\n
It was a different story in nearby Parliament Square, where the moment of Brexit was met with cheers, the lighting of flares and balloons let off into the night sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens now marks the point of no return. Once we have left, we are never, ever going back,\u201d Farage told the crowd of cheering supporters.<\/p>\n
At a \u201cBig Brexit Bash\u201d in Morley, northern England, Raymond Stott described the four years since the referendum as \u201ca right cock-up\u201d. \u201cI am just glad it\u2019s all over. We will look after ourselves. We don\u2019t need Europe,\u201d said the 66-year-old.<\/p>\n
Some British expatriates in southern Spain celebrated in bars but for many pro-Europeans, Friday marks a day they hoped would never come.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is a day of mourning,\u201d said Katrina Graham, 31, an Irish women\u2019s rights activist who lives in Brussels, at a protest in central London.<\/p>\n
At Berlin\u2019s Brandenburg Gate, a flashmob sang the EU anthem \u201cOde to Joy\u201d, from Beethoven\u2019s ninth symphony and waved flags.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Trade talks loom \u2013<\/p>\n
From Saturday, Britain will be free to strike trade deals around the world, including with the United States.<\/p>\n
Johnson has given himself just 11 months to negotiate a new partnership with the EU, covering everything from trade to security cooperation \u2014 despite warnings this is not enough time.<\/p>\n
He also discussed with his ministers on Friday an aim to get 80 percent of Britain\u2019s commerce covered by free trade agreements within three years, a spokesman said.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump is an enthusiastic supporter of Brexit, and one of his top envoys on Friday hailed an \u201cexciting new era\u201d. \u201cWe will continue building upon our strong, productive, and prosperous relationship with the UK as they enter this next chapter,\u201d Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.<\/p>\n