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Brexit vote divides Europe's leaders as splits emerge on timing of talks Brexit vote divides Europe's leaders as splits emerge on timing of talks
(about 1 hour later)
Europe’s leaders appear divided about how to negotiate Britain’s exit from the bloc as the president of the European parliament called on the UK government to “deliver now” on the referendum outcome and a key aide to Angela Merkel said Britain should “take the time to reconsider the consequences”. Divisions are opening among Europe’s leaders over how to handle Britain’s exit from the union, as the European parliament president called on the UK to “deliver now” on its Brexit vote but a key aide to Angela Merkel insisted London should “take the time to reconsider the consequences”.
As government and EU advisers on Sunday began preparing next week’s crunch two-day Brussels summit, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, announced plans to travel to the Belgian capital and London on Monday for urgent talks with British and EU officials. He urged the EU and UK to “minimise disruption” through a responsible handling of the split. As government and EU advisers on Sunday began preparing next week’s crunch summit, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, is due to fly to Brussels and London on Monday for urgent talks. Kerry urged both Britain and the EU to “minimise disruption” by negotiating the divorce responsibly.
Martin Schulz, the president of the European parliament, led calls for exit talks to begin as early as Tuesday. “We expect the British government to deliver now,” he told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag. “The summit on Tuesday is the appropriate moment to do so.” Martin Schulz, the president of the EU parliament, led the call for formal exit talks to be launched as early as Tuesday. “We expect the British government to deliver now,” he told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag. “The summit on Tuesday is the appropriate moment to do so.”
But with frustrations mounting at Britain’s seeming reluctance to begin divorce proceedings, Merkel, the German chancellor, has called for calm, clear-headed and businesslike discussions while other European capitals, EU leaders and her own government have demanded the UK’s rapid departure. Cameron is due to explain the UK’s position at a summit dinner on Tuesday night but will then leave, taking no part in the talks with leaders of the bloc’s 27 remaining members on Wednesday.
The European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has also warned London not to drag things out. Talks should start “immediately”, he said.
An EU source told the Guardian that Juncker had called David Cameron on Friday to say the prime minister should trigger article 50 immediately, beginning a two-year negotiating process leading to the UK’s departure.
Cameron said in his resignation speech he would leave that task to his successor, expected to be named by October. Juncker told him “the decision of the British people was crystal clear, and the only logical step would be to implement their will as soon as possible,” the source said.
But EU officials said any chance of exit talks beginning imminently was slight. EU lawyers have reached the unanimous view that a member state cannot be forced to take the “grave and irreversible” step of starting the article 50 process, an EU source said, adding that notification “has to be done in an unequivocal manner with the explicit intent to trigger article 50”.
London will, however, come under heavy political pressure to launch talks by the autumn – and the EU seems minded to refuse overtures for informal talks before the process is officially launched, an option prominent Leave supporters including Boris Johnson are counting on. “Negotiations on leaving and the future relationship can only begin after formal notification,” another EU source said.
In a flurry of further diplomatic activity, Donald Tusk, the European council president who will chair the summit, is due to meet France’s president, François Hollande, on Monday morning, then travel to Berlin to meet Merkel, the German chancellor, and the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, in the afternoon.
With frustrations mounting at Britain’s seeming reluctance to begin divorce proceedings, Merkel has called for calm, businesslike discussions, making clear the timing should be up to London. But other European capitals, EU leaders and her own government are pushing for a rapid exit.
Related: Brexit triggers Labour crisis: 'Corbyn's not a leader,' Hilary Benn says - live updatesRelated: Brexit triggers Labour crisis: 'Corbyn's not a leader,' Hilary Benn says - live updates
Merkel said there was no hurry for London to trigger article 50 of the Lisbon treaty, beginning a two-year negotiating process leading to Brexit. David Cameron has said he would leave that task to his successor, to be appointed by October. Merkel’s chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, said politicians in Britain should “take the time to reconsider the consequences of the Brexit decision - but by that I emphatically do not mean Brexit itself”. Europe should “wait for this to happen with calm”, he said.
“It should not take ages, that is true – but I would not fight now for a short time-frame,” Merkel said on Saturday. The former Finnish prime minister, Alexander Stubb, also said the EU should not push Britain too fast into launching a formal exit procedure. “This will be an extremely complicated set of negotiations,” Stubb said.
Her chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, said on Sunday that politicians in Britain should “take the time to reconsider the consequences of the Brexit decision - but by that I emphatically do not mean Brexit itself”. Europe should “wait for this to happen with calm”. “After the initial shock, we should take it easy and be patient, one step at a time. We should not be childish in thinking about punishing the UK.” Britain would end up with a Norway-type deal retaining close economic ties with the EU, but without a say on decision-making, he predicted.
The former Finnish prime minister, Alexander Stubb, also said on Sunday that the EU should not push Britain too fast into launching a formal exit procedure. “This will be an extremely complicated set of negotiations, there will be hundreds and thousands of legal, political and economic implications,” Stubb told Reuters. The foreign ministers of the EU’s six founding members, however, want Britain to start proceedings “as soon as possible” to avoid a long and potentially damaging period of uncertainty for the already weakened bloc.
“After the initial shock, we should now take it easy and be patient, one step at a time. We should not be childish in thinking about punishing the UK.” Britain would end up with a Norway-type deal retaining close economic ties with the EU, but without a say on decision-making, he predicted. The Dutch foreign minister, Bert Koenders, told the Volkskrant on Sunday: “We can’t have the kind of dithering Boris Johnson is suggesting. Everyone wants clarity: people, businesses, financial markets.” France’s foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said Cameron should be replaced in “a few days”.
The foreign ministers of the EU’s six founding members, however, demanded Britain start proceedings “as soon as possible” to avoid a long and potentially damaging period of uncertainty. The German vice chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, told the Handelsblatt business newspaper the EU would not be making any fresh offers. “The British have now decided to go. We will not hold talks about what the EU can still offer the Britons to keep them in,” he said, describing Cameron’s decision to call the referendum “a grand and historic blunder” and saying he should step down soon.
The Dutch foreign minister, Bert Koenders, told the Volkskrant: “We can’t have the kind of dithering Boris Johnson is suggesting. Everyone wants clarity: people, businesses, financial markets.”
France’s foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, urged Cameron to step down soon, saying: “A new prime minister must be designated – that will take a few days. But there is a certain urgency.” He added: “We have to give a new sense to Europe, otherwise populism will fill the gap.”
The German vice chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, told the Handelsblatt business daily newspaper the EU would not make any fresh offers. “The British have now decided to go. We will not hold talks about what the EU can still offer the Britons to keep them in,” he said.
The European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has also warned London not to drag things out. “It is not an amicable divorce,” he said, “but it was not an intimate love affair anyway.” Talks should start “immediately”, he said.
In a flurry of further diplomatic activity, Donald Tusk, the European council president who will chair the summit, is due to meet France’s president, François Hollande, on Monday morning, then travel to Berlin to meet Merkel and the Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, in the afternoon.
Related: What is article 50 and why is it so central to the Brexit debate?Related: What is article 50 and why is it so central to the Brexit debate?
Senior representatives – so-called sherpas – of the EU member states were meeting in Brussels on Sunday to prepare the summit. After Britain’s EU commissioner, Jonathan Hill, resigned on Saturday, Juncker plans to meet the remaining 27 on Monday. Senior representatives – so-called sherpas – of the EU member states were meeting in Brussels on Sunday to prepare the 24-hour summit. After Britain’s EU commissioner, Jonathan Hill, resigned on Saturday, Juncker plans to meet the remaining 27 on Monday.
London and Brussels have conflicting priorities: the EU wants minimum economic disruption, implying a swift UK exit, and is also concerned that any fresh concessions made to Britain run the risk of a domino effect in other Eurosceptic member states that could end up wrecking the union.London and Brussels have conflicting priorities: the EU wants minimum economic disruption, implying a swift UK exit, and is also concerned that any fresh concessions made to Britain run the risk of a domino effect in other Eurosceptic member states that could end up wrecking the union.
Britain will be eager to obtain the best possible terms for its departure – which are highly unlikely to be negotiated in just two years. Several leading figures in the Vote Leave campaign have said informal talks must precede any formal triggering of the two-year article 50 time limit.Britain will be eager to obtain the best possible terms for its departure – which are highly unlikely to be negotiated in just two years. Several leading figures in the Vote Leave campaign have said informal talks must precede any formal triggering of the two-year article 50 time limit.
Amid rising irritation in Brussels, EU officials have said London does not need to send a formal letter to begin the procedure but could do so by making a formal statement, possibly at next week’s summit.Amid rising irritation in Brussels, EU officials have said London does not need to send a formal letter to begin the procedure but could do so by making a formal statement, possibly at next week’s summit.
Cameron is due to explain the UK’s position at a summit dinner on Tuesday night but will then leave, taking no part in the talks on Wednesday. France and Germany have reportedly drawn up a 10-page document outlining three key areas – security; migration and refugees; and jobs and growth – for members to address at the summit in an attempt to shore up the 60-year-old union, which faces the risk of unravelling following Britain’s vote to leave.
France and Germany have reportedly drawn up a 10-page document outlining three key areas – security; migration and refugees; and jobs and growth – for the remaining 27 EU members to address at the summit in an attempt to shore up the 60-year-old union, which faces a risk of unravelling following the body blow of Britain’s vote to leave.
French and German industry groups said on Sunday that Brexit had plunged Europe into “turbulence” and called for stronger political and economic cooperation led by Berlin and Paris.French and German industry groups said on Sunday that Brexit had plunged Europe into “turbulence” and called for stronger political and economic cooperation led by Berlin and Paris.
“Europe must reunite, recover its confidence and go on the offensive,” the leaders of Germany’s powerful BDI and BDA industry groups and France’s Medef employers federation wrote in a joint appeal in the Journal du Dimanche.“Europe must reunite, recover its confidence and go on the offensive,” the leaders of Germany’s powerful BDI and BDA industry groups and France’s Medef employers federation wrote in a joint appeal in the Journal du Dimanche.
Tusk on Saturday appointed a Belgian diplomat, Didier Seeuws, to start work on coordinating future negotiations with Britain.Tusk on Saturday appointed a Belgian diplomat, Didier Seeuws, to start work on coordinating future negotiations with Britain.