UK Ends Long Brexit Journey With Economic Break From EU

British people living in Brussels who oppose Brexit hold a candlelit vigil outside the British embassy as the transition period comes to an end in Brussels, Belgium, on Dec. 31, 2020. Johanna Geron/Reuters

The United Kingdom completed its split from the European Union on Thursday.

Britain formally exited the EU’s single market and customs union as the transition period expired at 23:00 GMT, and began trading with the 27-member political and economic bloc under the new free trade agreement reached on Christmas Eve.