LONDON

Legislation to remove 587 pieces of Retained European Union Law (REUL) took effect Sunday in the UK following the passage of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill in Parliament.

The British government introduced the Brexit Freedoms Bill last year to end the special status of all retained EU law by Dec. 31, 2023.

The bill, which relates to EU law, was introduced in the UK through the EU (Withdrawal) Act of 2018.

“Brexit” is an abbreviation of two English words -- “Britain” and “exit” -- and refers to the withdrawal process of the UK from the EU.

The bill contains a provision to extend the sunset of certain pieces of EU law until June 2024 if necessary and was initially intended to remove all EU-era law from the UK statute book.

It was created to avoid large gaps in the statute book which would otherwise have emerged when the UK left the EU and EU law ceased to apply in the UK.

Government officials said in May that around 3,000 pieces of European law would remain indefinitely.

In the 2016 Brexit referendum, a majority voted in favor of the withdrawal of the country from the EU.

After the Brexit agreement was signed by representatives of Britain and the EU on Jan. 24, 2020, the UK officially withdrew from the bloc on Jan. 31 that year.