UK House of Commons Finally Passes EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill... Brexit 'Green Light'

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The UK House of Commons on the 9th (local time) finally passed a bill to carry out Brexit (the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union (EU)).

According to The Guardian and others, the House of Commons held the third reading vote on the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) that day. The vote resulted in 330 in favor and 231 against, passing the bill. This marks the approval of the EU withdrawal terms by Parliament for the first time in 3 years and 7 months since the Brexit referendum in June 2016.

This bill refers to various implementing laws necessary domestically in the UK to execute the withdrawal agreement (an international treaty) agreed upon between the UK and the EU. It replaces the laws that followed EU membership with domestic laws and grants legal effect to the Brexit agreement between the UK and the EU, which sets the transition period and other terms.

After passing the House of Commons, the bill will go through the House of Lords within weeks, receive royal assent from the Queen, and become formal law. However, if the House of Lords amends the bill, it must be approved again by the House of Commons.

The UK legislative review process is based on three readings. Previously, at the second reading vote at the end of last year, the bill passed with 358 votes in favor and 234 against, making Brexit practically expected.

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office said after the bill's passage, "This country has sent a clear message that it wants to resolve the Brexit issue," and evaluated, "Today's result is a very significant and positive move toward this goal."

Previously, Theresa May, the predecessor of Prime Minister Johnson, reached an agreement with the EU in November 2018 but resigned after the agreement was repeatedly rejected in Parliament. At the end of July last year, Prime Minister Johnson took office, successfully renegotiated with the EU, dissolved Parliament, held an early general election, and won a landslide victory, gaining an opportunity to end the Brexit deadlock in Parliament.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.