The UK will leave on Friday the "Brexit" European Union to begin an unspecified phase which represents the biggest change in its global position since the collapse of the British Empire, and the most severe blow to the efforts of 70 years to achieve European unity on the ruins of World War II.
And the country graduated one hour before midnight from the club it joined in 1973, to enter a transitional period in which it enjoyed all the benefits of membership except for the name until the end of this year.
In one fell swoop, the European Union will be deprived of 15 percent of the size of its economy, of the most heavily armed Member States spending on armaments, and of the international financial capital, London. The separation will shape the fate of the United Kingdom and determine its wealth for future generations.
"This is the moment when dawn breaks and a new chapter rises," Prime Minister Boris Johnson will say in a televised speech, although he has provided few details about his plans after the exit except for the enthusiastic words.
"This is the dawn of a new era," Johnson said, one of the key leaders in the "departure" campaign ahead of the 2016 exit referendum.
Contrary to the symbolic meaning that Britain will turn its back on 47 years of membership, little will actually change until the end of 2020, the time when Johnson promised to conclude a broad free trade agreement with the European Union, the largest trade bloc in the world.
For supporters, Britain’s exit from the union represents a dream of “independence day”, far from what they saw as a failure-led project dominated by the Germans and failed to fulfill the dreams of its 500 million people.
But opponents believe that "Brexit" is foolishness that would weaken the West, blow up the remaining global influence of Britain, undermine its economy and ultimately transform it into a group of isolated islands in the North Atlantic.
In Brussels, the President of the European Commission, Urzula von der Line, said in a speech marking Britain’s exit from the European Union, “Power does not lie in wonderful isolation, but in our unique union.”
Deer Lane's statement comes in reference to Britain's foreign policy teachings from the end of the nineteenth century.
Hours before the official exit from Britain's Brexit bloc, the Chairperson of the Commission said that the European Union wanted "the closest possible relationship" with Britain, but it would "defend its interests with great determination."
She added that this is "not an end, but a beginning ... the British people decided, and that must be respected."