The European Parliament gave final approval to Britain's divorce from the European Union, paving the way for the country to quit the bloc on Friday after nearly half a century and delivering a major setback for European integration.

Key points: Britain's ambassador to the EU handed documents formalising Brexit

Britain's ambassador to the EU handed documents formalising Brexit The chamber sang a rendition of Auld Lang Syne, a traditional Scottish folk song of farewell

The chamber sang a rendition of Auld Lang Syne, a traditional Scottish folk song of farewell British flags will be removed from EU offices and the EU flag lowered on British premises

After an emotional debate during which several speakers shed tears on Wednesday (local time), EU politicians voted 621 for and 49 against the Brexit agreement sealed between Britain and the 27 other member states last October, more than three years since Britons voted out.

Thirteen politicians abstained and the chamber then broke into a rendition of Auld Lang Syne, a traditional Scottish folk song of farewell.

Britain's 73 departing EU politicians headed for an "Au Revoir" party in the EU chamber after the vote.

Earlier in the day, Britain's ambassador to the EU handed documents formalising Brexit to a senior EU official.

Against a backdrop of British and EU flags at the bloc's Brussels headquarters, Tim Barrow, smiling, passed over a dark blue leather file embossed with the emblem of the United Kingdom.

After protracted divorce talks, Britain will leave the club it joined in 1973 at midnight Brussels time on Friday, when British flags will be removed from EU offices and the EU flag lowered on the British premises there.

The UK is the first nation in the EU bloc to leave. ( AP: Yves Herman )

With a status-quo transition period running only until year-end, fresh talks — covering everything from trade to security — will begin soon on a new relationship.

"We are considering a zero-tariff, zero-quotas free trade agreement. But the precondition is that EU and British businesses continue to compete on a level playing field," European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen told the chamber.

"We will certainly not expose our companies to unfair competition."

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier told envoys of the remaining 27 members earlier on Wednesday that a loose association agreement like the EU has with Ukraine should serve as the basis for new relations, diplomatic sources said.

"We will not give ground on issues that are important to us," Mr Barnier said, according to sources briefed on the closed-door meeting.

'The UK didn't fit'

Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said there was "no going back" once the UK leaves. ( AP: Rui Vieira )

On his last working day as a member of the European Parliament, leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage told reporters there was "no going back" once the UK leaves.

"The UK didn't fit, we'd be better off out," he said, describing Euroscepticism as a settled view in the UK, where "Leave" won the 2016 referendum by a narrow 52 to 48 percent margin.

He said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised him there would be no so-called "level playing field" clauses on fair competition in the new EU-UK deal, highlighting a major point of contention with the bloc in the coming talks.

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Mr Farage's microphone was cut off during his final remarks as he waved mini Union Jack flags, with Parliament Vice-President Mairead McGuiness saying, "Put your flags away, you are leaving".

Mr Farage's Brexit Party politicians waved goodbye to the chamber with their flags and chanted "Hurray!", but their socialist compatriot Jude Kirton-Darling choked back tears.

"It's probably the saddest day of my life so far. Brexit is something that attacks the very foundation of our identity," said Ms Kirton-Darling, who plans to stay in Brussels with her Belgian husband.

As a new reality dawns on Europe from Saturday, the UK's Permanent Representation to the EU, or UKRep, will become a foreign mission — already dubbed "UKmissEU" by some.

Reuters