The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to approve the Withdrawal Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

The vote was 621 in favour, 49 against and 13 abstentions. After this ratification, while the agreement entering into force is practically beyond doubt, it still needs to be "subject to a final vote (by qualified majority) in the Council" of the European Union, according to the European Parliament, Efe news reported.

The vote was preceded by an emotional debate of the Members of the European Parliament, who bid farewell -- sometimes with words of love and warmth -- to Britain's 41-year stay in the world's largest trading bloc.

After the vote, a chorus of Auld Lang Syne sang by MEPs reverberated across the legislature's Hemicycle chamber in Brussels.