EU officials say the UK must start the process to leave the bloc as soon as possible
REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
"In a free and democratic process, the British people have expressed their wish to leave the European Union. We regret this decision but respect it.
"We now expect the United Kingdom government to give effect to this decision of the British people as soon as possible, however painful that process may be. Any delay would unnecessarily prolong uncertainty," the statement by EU Council President Donald Dusk, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said.
The UK voted in a referendum on Thursday to leave the European Union. Since the results were announced early on Friday morning, Prime Minister David Cameron resigned, the pound fell to its lowest level in over 30 years and Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a new referendum on its independence from the UK was "highly likely."
After he read the brief statement to reporters on Friday, Juncker insisted that Britain's decision to leave the EU was not the beginning of the end for the bloc. He answered the question asked by a reporter with a simple "No" before leaving the room under applause from EU officials.
The statement by EU officials also stressed that, while the situation was unprecedented, the EU has "rules to deal with this in an orderly way. Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union sets out the procedure to be followed if a Member State decides to leave the European Union. We stand ready to launch negotiations swiftly with the United Kingdom regarding the terms and conditions of its withdrawal from the European Union."
REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
They promised a united and strong response to this challenge from the 27 Member States and said they hoped to keep the United Kingdom as a close partner.
Juncker also reassured Britons working for the EU that they would not be forced out of their jobs, which are generally restricted to EU citizens, a status Brits will lose following the end of the negotiations.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema
- In second consecutive week of decline, forex kitty drops $2.28 bn to $640.33 bn
- SBI Life Q4 profit rises 4% to ₹811 crore
- IMD predicts severe heatwave conditions over East, South Peninsular India for next five days
- COVID lockdown-related school disruptions will continue to worsen students’ exam results into the 2030s: study
- India legend Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 ambassador
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market