Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel show signed Brexit trade agreement in Brussels, Belgium. Johanna Geron/Reuters

Gulf Today Report

The European Union’s top officials and British leaders signed their mammoth trade pact to set the seal on their drawn-out Brexit divorce just hours before the UK quits the bloc after a half-century of troubled partnership.

EU leaders signed their post-Brexit trade deal with Britain and dispatched it to London on an RAF jet on Wednesday, setting their seal on a drawn-out divorce just hours before the UK brings its half-century European experiment to an end, according to agencies.

Ursula von der Leyen signs Brexit trade agreement due to come into force on January 1, in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters

With a call for both sides to look forward to a new chapter in their relationship, EU chiefs signed the Brexit trade deal agreed with Britain and sent the text off to London on Wednesday for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to add his signature.

Against a backdrop of EU flags, top EU officials signed the treaties struck on Dec. 24 to preserve Britain's tariff- and quota-free access to the bloc's 450 million consumers.

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The texts were then to be flown to London in an RAF jet for the signature of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on the eve of Britain's departure from the EU single market.

Picture shown is for illustrative purposes only.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel put pen to paper on Wednesday morning during a brief signature ceremony in Brussels.

The UK Parliament will later start debating the agreement setting up new trade rules between the 27-nation bloc and former member Britain. The agreement needs approval from Britain’s Parliament, and from the EU’s legislature, which is not expected to take up the deal for weeks.