EU leaders meet on Brexit as UK election indicates a way out

13/12/2019 18:20

        European Union leaders gathered to discuss Britain's departure from the bloc amid some relief that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has secured a parliamentary majority that should allow him to push the long-stalled Brexit divorce deal through parliament.
        
        With or without an agreement, Britain is scheduled to leave on Jan. 31. It's the first time that a country will have left the world's biggest trading bloc. Though many EU leaders are relieved that the Brexit saga is finally coming to an end, more than three years after Britons voted to leave, just as many are saddened at the departure of such a heavyweight member state.
        
        When Britain voted to leave the EU in June 2016, there were fears that it could lead to other departures. However, those fears have dissipated as the process has been so politically divisive — two U.K. elections were held over it — and expensive.