Reactions of World Leaders to Britain’s Exit from the EU

There were various reactions from world leaders shortly after the referendum favoured Britain’s leaving the European Union

Donald Tusk, European Union President, said the bloc will meet without Britain at summit next week to assess its future. “We are determined to keep our unity as 27 ... I will propose that we start a period of wider reflection on the future of our union,” he said, adding: “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.”

The special relationship between the UK and the US is “enduring”, President Barack Obama said in his first response to Britain’s vote to leave the EU.

“The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision,” the US president said.

“The special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is enduring, and the United Kingdom’s membership in Nato remains a vital cornerstone of US foreign, security, and economic policy. So too is our relationship with the European Union, which has done so much to promote stability, stimulate economic growth, and foster the spread of democratic values and ideals across the continent and beyond.”

He added that the UK and the EU would remain “indispensable partners of the United States even as they begin negotiating their ongoing relationship to ensure continued stability, security, and prosperity for Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the world”.

The Australian prime minister was the first world leader to comment on the outcome of the British referendum.

Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull said he was “confident” that his country’s negotiations towards a free trade agreement with the EU will continue.

“The impact on Australia immediately, directly, from a legal point of view, will be very limited because it will take some years for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, to negotiate an exit. However, we’ve seen already large falls on stock markets and there will be a degree of uncertainty for some time.”

Laurence Fabius, the French foreign minister, said: “I am sad for the United Kingdom. Europe continues, but she must react and rediscover the confidence of the people. It is urgent.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, currently on an official visit to China, did not make any comment Friday morning. His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Brexit is the internal affair of Great Britain and a question of the relationship between Great Britain and the EU,” RIA Novosti reported.

But Russian officials said that the Brexit vote will likely weaken EU’s resolve on sanctions imposed on Russia over the 2014 Ukraine crisis. Britain was one of the strongest backers of the sanctions, which were seen in London as an important measure to curb Moscow’s imperial ambitions.

“Without Britain in the European Union there is no-one to so eagerly defend sanctions against us,” tweeted Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said the European Union must change quickly not just because Britain has voted to leave the bloc but to strengthen support for its citizens.

Sobotka said the British vote did not mean the end of the EU and the bloc should agree Britain’s leaving “quickly and rationally”.

“The European Union must change quickly,” he said on his Facebook page. “Not because Britain has left, but because the European project needs much stronger support of its citizens. Europe must be more ready to act, be flexible, less bureaucratic and much more sensible to the diversity that the 27 member states represent.”

Germany’s Foreign Ministry has tweeted that this is “a sad day for Europe” and that the news from Britain was “very sobering:”

FM #Steinmeier: The early morning news from #GreatBritain are truly sobering. It looks like a sad day for #Europe+the #UnitedKingdom. #UK

— GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) 24 June 2016

Manfred Weber, a senior German conservative MEP and a close ally of Angela Merkel, has warned Britain will receive “no special treatment” and must leave the EU within two years.

He writes in four tweets: “We respect and regret the decision of the British voters. It causes major damage to both sides. This was a British vote, not a European vote. Co-operation within Europe is a question of self-assertion of the continent.

“We want a better and smarter Europe. We have to convince the people and bring Europe back to them.

“Exit negotiations should be concluded within two years at max. There cannot be any special treatment. Leave means leave.”

Wir respektieren und bedauern die Entscheidung der britischen Wähler. Sie verursacht großen Schaden für beide Seiten. #Brexit 1/4

— Manfred Weber (@ManfredWeber) 24 June 2016

Danish PM Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a statement “We must respect the choice that a majority of the British people have made. At the same time, I won’t hide the fact that I think it is a very sad result for Europe and for Denmark.”

He said, “It is now up to the British government to determine the next steps for Britain. I hope that Britain still wants to maintain close relations with the EU.

“The last three referendums in the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark should give pause for thought and action. In the population, there is a scepticism towards the EU. We must as decision-makers in the EU take this very seriously.” ish leave vote “is bad news for Europe and bad news for Poland.”

Britain leaving the EU would deprive Poland’s euro-sceptic of a key alley in Brussels, casts a huge cloud of uncertainty over the status of hundreds of thousands of Poles working in the UK.

“First it means destabilisation for the UK. There is a great dilemma for the euro-crats: we all want to keep the EU, but in what shape.”

Viktor Orban, the Hungarian Prime Minister, said Brussels must now listen to the voice of the people and that is “the biggest lesson” of the referendum. Minister Erna Solberg told the NRK broadcaster.

“I think this will create a more introverted Europe, which will be concerned with finding solutions to organisational problems, instead of providing solutions to the issues voters really want addressed. How do we secure enough growth? How do we create jobs?”

Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Spain said, “Spain will remain committed to the EU.

“The EU is the area of greatest prosperity and wellbeing; we will continue building a better future between us.

“We need stability. Above all we will continue defending Spaniards’ interests and greater European integration.