BREXIT ON 31 JANUARY European Commission and European Council sign Brexit agreement

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The presidents of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council, Charles Michel, have signed the Brexit agreement reached in October and approved this week by the British parliament.

The signing paved the way for the ratification of the agreement in the European Parliament next week, ensuring the smooth withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU under the terms of the divorce agreement, Euronews reports.

The United Kingdom, as envisaged by the latest plan, should leave the EU on 31 January, 47 years after becoming a member of the pan-European partnership.

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, was also present at the signing ceremony, held at the Commission's headquarters in Brussels.

In the United Kingdom, the EU Withdrawal Act came into force on Thursday after receiving royal assent.

That same evening, the European Parliament's Committee on Constitutional Affairs recommended approval of the agreement.

Members of the European Parliament are expected to debate the agreement next Wednesday, 29 January. The following day, diplomats from EU member states should give their written consent, ahead of the UK's official departure on Friday - at midnight Central European Time, 11 p.m. British time.