Following the conclusion of the summit, Mr Tusk said the 27 leaders had agreed that Britain would have to accept freedom of movement if it wants to maintain access to the single market as a non-member.
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But following a meeting of 27 leaders of European Union member states on Wednesday morning, excluding Mr Cameron, Mr Tusk made clear that the Council shared German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s view that Britain faces a choice between single market access and the power to control European Union migration – and could not have both.
The poll also showed the French were not inclined to follow Britain’s example and hold a vote on their European Union membership.
It came as the domestic tremors from the referendum shock continued, with Mr Cameron urging the embattled head of the opposition Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn, to step down, saying “for heaven’s sake man, go”.
The result of last week’s referendum has rattled Britain’s economy and divided the country – 52 percent of voters wanted to leave the 28-nation bloc, while 48 percent voted to remain.
“It is up to the British government to notify the European Council of the UK’s intentions to withdraw from the EU”, Tusk said.
But while Britain does not have “months to meditate”, Juncker said that Britain could activate the Lisbon Treaty’s Article 50 exit procedures shortly after Cameron’s successor takes office, as early as September.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has been campaigning for the Remain side, blamed his loss in the referendum last Thursday on the EU’s migrant policy, as the Leave side in the United Kingdom was fueled by fear of a flood of migrant workers.
Over dinner with the other European Union leaders, Cameron had urged them to consider reforming the EU’s rules on freedom of movement, a central tenet of the economic bloc, which when it was created after World War II aimed to replicate the open borders between the 50 USA states.
Cameron is to share his views about the referendum and perhaps Britain’s future at a summit in Brussels starting at 1400 GMT on Tuesday.
Some in Brussels are concerned that giving Britain favourable divorce terms will spark a domino effect of others leaving the European Union, with euroscepticism growing in many member states.
However, he conceded the rising popularity of calls for reform: “We also discussed the fact that there are too many people in Europe who are unhappy with the current state of affairs”. Mr Cameron told Mr Corbyn to stand down in the national interest.
Mr Juncker earlier said Scotland had won the right to be heard, but that the European Union did not want to interfere in the UK’s internal affairs.
Labour MPs voted against Mr Corbyn in a no-confidence motion Tuesday after dozens of members of his frontbench team stepped down, with the veteran left-winger accused of not campaigning hard enough against Brexit.
Five Conservative lawmakers are running to replace Cameron, and the bookies’ favorite is Home Secretary Theresa May, who backed the “remain” side in the referendum.
His Conservative Party rival Boris Johnson, the former London mayor who became the most recognizable face of the “leave” camp, is now widely tipped to seek his job.
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Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, said anyone wanting access to the EU’s internal market had to adhere to strict criteria “without exception”.
