Paris: France’s border with Britain for migration will remain on French soil, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Friday, dismissing calls for it to be moved to the English coast following the Brexit vote.
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German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeierer, who had invited his counterparts to the hastily convened talks, said he did not think Britain was “setting an example for Europe”.
In London, Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Vote Leave campaign, said Britain should begin informal negotiations on a complete settlement governing its post-Brexit relationship with the European Union before invoking Post 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.
“But we must overcome this, which means preserving Europe’s unity, continue fulfilling priorities and projects while being even more attentive to the expectations of the people of the whole Europe”, the minister told reporters.
“We will begin this process immediately, this has to be clear – the British people have spoken”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking at a different press conference in Potsdam, outside Berlin, also prodded for British action. “Rather truthfully, it must not take ages, that is true, but I would not fight now for a short time frame”, Merkel stated.
An online petition seeking a second referendum on a British exit from the Europe Union has drawn more than 1 million names, a measure of the extraordinary divisiveness of Thursday’s vote to leave the 28-nation bloc.
Belgium’s foreign minister Didier Reynders said Europe must deliver answers on immigration, security and jobs.
However, he cautioned against making rash decisions. They also spoke of the need for a speedy renegotiation.
The EU was built in the grim aftermath of World War II with the hope of leading the destroyed continent to a more peaceful and prosperous future. “It is up to us to recreate this spirit”, he said, noting all the European countries that subsequently joined after overthrowing dictatorships and embracing democracy.
However, the leaders did not present a concrete plan on how to tackle the union’s many pressing issues and how exactly they will react to the citizen’s anxious and EU-fatigue.
Hill says in a statement that he will work with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to ensure there is an “orderly handover”.
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Credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the U.K.’s economic outlook from stable to negative, saying Britain faces “a prolonged period of uncertainty… with negative implications for the country’s medium-term growth outlook”.
