World Economy
0

EU Leaders Meet for Crisis Talks

EU Leaders Meet for Crisis Talks
EU Leaders Meet for Crisis Talks

European Union leaders are meeting on day two of what has become a crisis summit in Brussels, but without the UK after its vote to leave the bloc.

As things stand, the EU and UK are in deadlock. EU leaders insist there can be no negotiation before the UK has formally invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which will trigger the withdrawal talks, news outlets reported.

The 27 other member states will discuss plans for the UK’s exit, with the UK absent from negotiations for the first time in 40 years.

On Tuesday, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said continued trade and security cooperation with the EU would be vital.

Cameron said his successor could begin negotiations with the European Union about the country’s exit from the bloc before the formal Article 50 legal process is triggered, despite comments from the EU to the contrary.

“They have said ‘no negotiation, without notification’ but I don’t think that excludes discussion that a new prime minister can have with partners or indeed with the institutions so that we continue to get off on the right foot,” he said.

Germany’s Angela Merkel urged the bloc to “respect the result” of the UK vote.

She and other leaders also renewed calls for Britain to set out plans for leaving as soon as possible.

French President Francois Hollande has stressed that Britain would have to abide by European Union rules once it divorced from the bloc if it wanted to maintain access to the single market.

Hollande also said that defense and energy agreements with Britain would remain in place after it terminated its membership of the EU.

 Four Basic Freedoms

Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban said: The UK’s access to European markets after it exits the bloc will be conditional on honoring all four basic EU freedoms. The four freedoms are the free movement of goods, people, capital and services.

EU President Donald Tusk said: EU leaders will hold a summit—without Britain—in Bratislava on September 16 to discuss further the fallout from Britain’s decision to leave the EU. He also said that leaders made it “crystal clear” that access to the single market requires acceptance of all four freedoms, “including freedom of movement”.

Belgium Prime Minister Charles Michel said: The UK “cannot afford the luxury of having a long-drawn-out political crisis”, adding the EU was facing a “wake-up call” and needed to make “a bigger effort, in a concrete way, to promote the European project”.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said: “With a disunited United Kingdom, we need a united Europe more than ever.”

Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite said: The remaining leaders “need to wake up and smell the coffee.”

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the UK did not have “months to meditate” on activating Article 50.

Financialtribune.com