Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to present key legislation to British lawmakers on Tuesday as he seeks to formalise Brexit by the end of this month.
Johnson plans to present the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill for detailed scrutiny by parliament’s elected main house, the Commons, more than three and a half years since a majority of 52 per cent voted to leave the EU.
The lawmakers backed the bill in December 2019 after Johnson’s Conservatives won a parliamentary majority of 80 in a snap election, making passage of the bill largely a formality.
Another vote is expected on Thursday, after three days of debate.
Johnson is also scheduled to discuss Brexit with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in London on Wednesday.
“This is going to be a fantastic year for Britain,” as Brexit brings an opportunity to “unleash Britain’s potential,” he said in his New Year messages.
Johnson said he wants to build a “people’s government, delivering on the people’s priorities” and “bid farewell to the division, the uncertainty, the rancour which has held this country back for too long.”
“On Jan. 31, we’ll be out of the EU, free to chart our own course as a sovereign nation taking back control of our money, our laws, our borders, and our trade,” Johnson said.
Johnson called Britain “the greatest place on Earth.”
The bill cements his election promise to “get Brexit done” and negotiate an agreement on future relations with the EU by the end of 2020.
dpa/NAN.
