“This process should start as soon as possible”, Xinhua news agency quoted German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier as saying after a meeting with his counterparts from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg in Berlin.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the European Union has “no should be especially bad in any manner” in the discussions with Britain about its departure in the bloc. He said British Prime Minister David Cameron initiated this referendum, and “he must now live with the consequences”.
Over a million people signed a petition in the United Kingdom calling for a second referendum over the country’s European Union membership following the shock Brexit vote.
Looking to a summit meeting of European Union leaders, including Cameron, next week, the French minister added: “There will be a lot of pressure on Cameron on Tuesday to move ahead”.
“Quite honestly, it should not take ages, that is true, but I would not fight now for a short time frame”, Merkel told a news conference at a meeting of her party outside Berlin.
She added that she was seeking an “objective, good” climate in the talks with Britain, which “must be conducted properly”.
Britain would remain a full-fledged member of the European Union until the negotiations will be completed – with all the rights and responsibilities, she added.
Former London mayor Boris Johnson, a leading campaigner for Britain to leave the European Union and the bookmakers’ favorite to replace David Cameron as prime minister, said, “nothing would change over the short term following the Brexit vote”.
US President Barack Obama, who publicly threw his weight behind British EU membership during a visit to London in April, insisted the “special relationship” between the two countries was “enduring”.
At this meeting, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault warned: “We have to give a new sense to Europe, otherwise populism will fill the gap”.
“We say here together, this process should get under way as soon as possible so that we are not left in limbo but rather can concentrate on the future of Europe”, Mr Steinmeier said.
European Council President Donald Tusk made a start by appointing Belgian diplomat Didier Seeuws to coordinate negotiations with Britain. “Britain now needs to define for itself – and that will surely be a process of discussion – how it wants to shape its relations with the European Union”.
In Britain itself, divisions widened after the relatively close 52-48 percent vote.
Underscoring the anger, more than 1.5 million have signed a petition calling for a second referendum on the official British government and Parliament website – more than 10 times the 100,000 signatures required for a proposal to be discussed in the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament.
The petition will have to be considered for debate by lawmakers, but it has no legal force and its backers compare with the 17.4 million who voted “leave”.
A London protest in Trafalgar Square was also set for Tuesday night as a show of British support for the rest of Europe.
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Notorious Dutch anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders said the Netherlands also deserved a “Nexit” vote, while Italy’s far-right Northern League said: “Now it’s our turn”. “We need to discuss with the United Kingdom the way out, but we need also to discuss how it is possible to do more with some partners or with 27 member states in different concrete fields”, he said. Natacha Bouchart said she will push for an end to the Le Touquet agreement which keeps border checks – and many migrants – on the French side of the Channel.
