U.K. says ‘Cheerio’ to European Parliament

British members of the European Parliament defiantly waved goodbye with Union Jacks on Wednesday. The EU governing body voted 629-49 in favor of passing the United Kingdom’s Brexit withdrawal plan on Wednesday. Lawmakers held hands and broke into a rendition of “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish farewell song, after the vote.

Is this really the end? Business as usual will continue for a little while. The U.K. can leave the bloc on Friday night, but it will remain in a transition phase to work out details of the new relationship until Dec. 31. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised a “respectful” celebration after Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage called the European Union a bad project in a highly viewed speech before European lawmakers in Brussels. “I know you’re going to miss us, I know you want to ban our national flag, but we’re going to wave you goodbye and we look forward in the future to working with you,” Farage said before he was cut off for breaking the rule against flags in the chamber.

Dig deeper: Watch Farage’s speech here. Then read my report in World Tour on what comes next in the Brexit process.