That’s the crux of the current tensions: Britain’s “leave” vote hinged on concerns about migration from poorer European Union countries.
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At a tense summit that finished late Tuesday, the 27 remaining European Union members agreed to give Britain some breathing space, accepting that it needs time to absorb the shock of the Brexit vote before triggering Article 50 that will begin the formal divorce proceedings. Some 55 percent did not want a referendum on the subject, while 45 percent wanted one.
Speaking at a news conference following a summit with the leaders of Canada and Mexico in Ottawa, Obama said there were “genuine longer term concerns” over global growth following the Brexit vote.
As leader after leader rejected Cameron’s pleas for favorable conditions for Britain once it leaves, he frustrated them by refusing to initiate the divorce proceedings immediately. “Remain” supporters demonstrate in Parliament Square, London, to show their support for the European Union in the wake of the referendum decision for Britain to leave the EU, known as “Brexit”, Saturday July 2, 2016. Dem… “This is not about more or less Europe as a principle, but about achieving results better”, she said.
Meanwhile, both main political parties in Britain are in turmoil with the opposition Labour leader fighting for his political life and the ruling conservatives searching for a new leader after Cameron’s resignation.
Without mentioning Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump – who opposes the plan – he said: “We’ve had times throughout our history where anti-immigration sentiment is exploited by demagogues”.
Prominent Leave campaigner Boris Johnson and Cameron ally Theresa May are seen as front-runners, while work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb has also declared his intention to run.
In a blow to the City of London, French president François Hollande said London would no longer be able to clear euro-denominated trades, a key strand of London’s financial industry.
She said she had had a “sympathetic response” from European Union leaders, and if there was a way for Scotland to stay in the European Union she was “determined to find it”.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met Wednesday in Brussels with European Parliament President Martin Schulz and the leader of the EU executive, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
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Cameron has insisted it is Britain’s “sovereign decision” when to trigger article 50, and that initiating the withdrawal process would be a job for his successor, who is likely to be appointed by early September. “But I don’t think that excludes discussion that a new prime minister can have with partners, or indeed with the institutions, so that we continue to get off on the right foot”.
