“Bravo to the United Kingdom”, he wrote.
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Dutch voters have twice voiced strong anti-EU sentiment at the polls, most recently in April when a vast majority rejected the Ukraine-EU treaty in a nonbinding referendum.
“Certainly there’s a lot of apprehension among those who really care about the European integration process”, says Fabian Zuleeg, chief executive of the Brussels-based European Policy Center.
There is no concealing the sense of alarm spreading through the European Union.
In the first indication of how complicated Britain’s exit from the European Union could turn out to be, Spain announced it would seek co-sovereignity on Gibraltar, a major point of contention in relations between the two countries.
Jobs are slowly being created, but more than 21 million Europeans – 9% – are still without work.
“France will have a lot to lose, because Britain is France’s second-biggest trading partner after Germany”, adds Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, Paris office director of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, noting Britain also helps counter economic powerhouse Germany. “This is the moment to. refound a new Europe by listening to the people”.
“I do think that yesterday’s vote speaks to the ongoing changes and challenges that are raised by globalization”, Obama said in a speech at Stanford University. David Cameron has his responsibilities for his country, we have our responsibilities for the future of the EU.
“There’s been nothing positive about the EU”. In the USA, the Dow Jones is expected to open at over 700 points lower this afternoon, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ futures have also crashed 106 and 227 points, respectively.
Still, Ajuelos reluctantly throws his weight behind Brussels.
He said: “Now it is our turn”.
“The British vote seriously tests Europe”, Mr Hollande continued.
“Vote Brexit, and we’ll handle the champagne”, France’s far-right National Front youth wing urges on its Facebook page.
“Following British departure from the EU, it will be in nobody’s interest to make the global flow of goods more expensive by erecting customs barriers between Britain and the European continent”, said Matthias Wissmann, President of the German automotive industry association (VDA). The magazine said the outcome left Britain a sharply divided country, with pro-Remain voters London, Scotland and Northern Ireland outnumbered by Leave supporters in the north and Wales who had acted defiance of warnings of “disastrous” economic consequences in the event of withdrawal.
Along with anger, Britain’s referendum has also sparked calls for reforming the EU.
On the continent, I will be asking about the impact of the Brexit vote on Europe’s future.
Le Pen said last month that if she won next year’s French presidential election she would immediately start negotiations on a series of sovereignty issues including the single currency. It was time to reinvent Europe or risk the bloc’s fragmentation, he said.
“What do we do in terms of solving the eurozone crisis for good, or on security, or the refugee crisis or a multi-speed Europe?” he asks.
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He said: “Now is the time for us to behave seriously and responsibly”.
