London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Brexit: New era for UK as it completes separation from European Union

Brexit: New era for UK as it completes separation from European Union

A new era has begun for the United Kingdom after it completed its formal separation from the European Union.

The UK stopped following EU rules at 23:00 GMT, as replacement arrangements for travel, trade, immigration and security co-operation came into force.

Boris Johnson said the UK had "freedom in our hands" and the ability to do things "differently and better" now the long Brexit process was over.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the UK remained a "friend and ally".

UK ministers have warned there will be some disruption in the coming days and weeks, as new rules bed in and British firms trading with the continent come to terms with the changes.

Officials have insisted new border systems are "ready to go" amid fears of hold-ups at ports.

The UK officially left the 27-member political and economic bloc on 31 January, three and half years after the UK public voted to leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

But it has stuck to the EU's trading rules for the past 11 months while the two sides negotiated their future economic partnership.

After trade talks went down to the wire, a landmark treaty was finally agreed on Christmas Eve. It became law in the UK on Wednesday after it was approved by Parliament.

Under the new arrangements, which came into force at 24:00 CET, UK manufacturers will have tariff-free access to the EU's internal market, meaning there will be no import taxes on goods crossing between Britain and the continent.

But it does mean more paperwork for businesses and people travelling to EU countries while there is still uncertainty about what it will happen to banking and services, which are a major part of the UK economy.



It a moment that some will regard with huge optimism, others with deep regret.

And while this historic move happens at a moment in time, the impact, in some areas, may be less instant or obvious than others - for example, it's expected there'll be relatively little traffic at Dover on the first day of 2021 as new border checks kick in.

Nevertheless, significant changes are here - whether on trade, travel, security or immigration.

And while coronavirus continues - for now - to shut down much of society those changes could well become more apparent in the months ahead.

PM hails 'amazing moment'


Mr Johnson - who was a key figure in the Leave campaign during the 2016 referendum and who took the UK out of the EU in January six months after becoming prime minister - said it was an "amazing moment" for the UK.

In his New Year message, the PM said the UK was now "free to do things differently, and if necessary better, than our friends in the EU".

"We have our freedom in our hands and it is up to us to make the most of it," he said.

Lord Frost, the UK's chief negotiator, tweeted that Britain had become a "fully independent country again" while veteran Conservative MP Sir Bill Cash said the outcome was a "victory for sovereignty and democracy".


The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

But opponents of Brexit maintain the country will be worse off than it was while in the EU.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, whose ambition it is to take an independent Scotland back into the EU, tweeted: "Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on."


The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said it was "not something to celebrate" and the UK's relationship with Ireland will be different from now on, but "we wish them well".



In Brussels, there is a sense of relief the Brexit process is over, but there is regret still at Brexit itself.

Basically, the European Union thinks that Brexit makes it - the EU - and the UK weaker.

But they think this is less bye-bye Britain and more au revoir, because there are so many loose ends between the two sides.

The two sides still need to talk about the practicalities. We still have to find out what access Brussels is going to give to UK financial services to the single market, there's that cooperation on climate change, and in this new trade deal there is a renewal clause every five years.

For all of those reasons and more, the EU thinks this is not an end to its conversation with the UK for the foreseeable future.

What is changing?


The culmination of the Brexit process means major changes in different areas. These include:

*  The free movement of people between the UK and EU countries has ended - and has been replaced in the UK by a "points-based" immigration system

*  Anyone from the UK who wants to stay in most of the EU for more than 90 days in any 180-day period now needs a visa

*  Duty-free shopping has returned, with people coming back to the UK from the EU able to bring up to 42 litres of beer, 18 litres of wine, four litres of spirits and 200 cigarettes without paying tax

*  EU citizens wanting to move to the UK (except those from Ireland) face the same points-based system as people elsewhere in the world

*  UK police have lost instant access to EU-wide databases on criminal records, fingerprints and wanted persons

*  Traders in England, Scotland and Wales must complete more paperwork when dealing with EU countries

British firms exporting goods to the continent will have to fill out customs declarations straight away.

But checks on goods entering Britain from the continent will be phased in over a six-month period up to July 2021, although some new customs procedures have already come into force, on imports of alcohol, tobacco, chemicals and controlled drugs.

The first customs checks at the Eurotunnel following the UK's departure from the single market went smoothly, the company said.

Spokesman John Keefe said: "It all went fine, everything's running just as it was before 11pm. It's very, very quiet, there are very few trucks around, as we predicted."

In other major breaks from the past, the European Court of Justice will cease to have any role in deciding disputes between the UK and EU.

And the UK will gradually be able to keep more of the fish caught in its own waters.

Unlike the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland will continue to follow many of the EU's rules, as its border with the Republic of Ireland remains all but invisible. The UK government said on Thursday online retailers in Britain will not have to make customs declarations when sending parcels to customers in Northern Ireland.

How prepared is the UK?


Intensive preparations have been taking place over the past two weeks to ready the UK for the coming changes, although concerns remain many small business are not ready.

The UK's Countdown Plan has involved operational testing of infrastructure at the border and close co-operation with France, Holland and Belgium.

A government spokesman said: "The border systems and infrastructure we need are in place, and we are ready for the UK's new start."



Vehicles trying to take goods across the channel without the correct documentation face being turned back while drivers of HGVs weighing more than 7.5 tonnes who do not have permits to enter Kent risk being fined.

Traffic volumes are expected to be lower than normal on 1 January due to the pandemic but are expected to pick up from Monday, when the new procedures and the UK's contingency measures are expected to be tested.

The government said 450 "Kent access" permits had been issued to HGV lorries intending to cross the channel at Dover on 1 January and hauliers arriving without them would be identified and subject to a £300 fine.

Meanwhile, the UK and Spain have reached an agreement meaning the border between Gibraltar and Spain will remain open.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×