But with Britain in limbo politically for three months following the resignation of British Prime Minister David Cameron, that’s unlikely to happen. BEST FRIEND IN EUROPE Britain has sold itself to China as its “best friend in Europe”, marketing the country’s premier financial services industry and its function as a gateway to the EU single market.
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The foreign ministers of the founding six member nations – Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – are behind closed doors in Berlin, discussing how to make Britain’s departure as smooth and swift as possible.
Ahead of Saturday’s European Union meeting, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier struck a more cautious tone, stating it was crucial to preserve the “project of freedom and stability”.
“We will need to renegotiate vital trade deals with Europe and with Britain”, he said. Mr Johnson left his home to jeers from a crowd in the mainly pro-EU capital. “Brexit will oblige some countries to take a decision”. The organization could be facing the biggest blow since World War II to the European project of forging greater unity, as reported by Reuters.
The referendum campaign was unlike an election in that both sides were backed by politicians from many parties.
Some Brexit campaigners have long said that Britain should aim to negotiate a comprehensive new relationship with the European Union, seeking access to markets without submitting to European Union rules or open migration, before binding itself into the two-year timetable that would be fixed for talks if Article 50 is triggered.
European Union president Donald Tusk said the bloc was determined to stay unified after Britain voted to leave and warned against “hysterical” reactions.
The Brussels gathering will bring together the leaders of all 28 European Union nations, but Cameron is not expected to attend much of the session.
Britons, many anxious by immigration and what they saw as interference in the running of their country by bureaucrats in Brussels, voted by 52 to 48 percent to abandon the bloc after 43 years of often troubled membership.
Mr. Cameron is likely to step down in October when the Conservative Party chooses a new leader.
“It’s in Britain’s interest and in the interest of Europeans not to have a period of uncertainty that would have financial consequences, and that could have economic and political consequences”, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.
The Council spokesman made clear that leaders can not simply choose to interpret something Cameron says as the trigger without the prime minister saying clearly he means it to be. Benchmark indexes in London, Paris and Frankfurt all lost between 1.2% and 1.5%, while Ireland’s main stock market plummeted by 6.6%. “We export much more than we import from European Union”.
In an emotional speech on Friday, UK Prime Minister Cameron, who led the campaign to remain in Europe to defeat, after promising the referendum in 2013, said he would leave office by October.
“It was the day the quiet people of Britain rose up against an arrogant, out-of-touch political class and a contemptuous Brussels elite”, it added.
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Trump’s response was one of the first responses from American leaders waking up to the Brexit news, which will undoubtedly have far reaching economic and geopolitical side effects for one of the U.S.’s closest allies. The “Leave” campaign won by 52 percent, beating the “Remain” campaign, which drew 48-percent voter support.
