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  David Cameron for ‘closest possible’ EU ties

David Cameron for ‘closest possible’ EU ties

AFP
Published : Jun 29, 2016, 12:32 am IST
Updated : Jun 29, 2016, 12:32 am IST

Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday he wants the “closest possible” relations with the EU after Britain voted to leave the bloc, adding the split should be “as constructive as possible”.

Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday he wants the “closest possible” relations with the EU after Britain voted to leave the bloc, adding the split should be “as constructive as possible”.

As he arrived at a Brussels summit, Mr Cameron, who is to step down within weeks, told reporters that, while Britain was leaving the EU, “we mustn’t be tur-ning our backs on Europe.”

“These countries are our neighbours, our friends, our allies, our partners,” he added. “I very much hope we’ll seek the closest possible relationship in terms of trade and cooperation and security, because that is good for us and that is good for them.”

Mr Cameron, who led the campaign for Britain to stay in the bloc, is under pressure from other European leaders to hurry up and file divorce proceedings by triggering the so-called Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty.

But Mr Cameron has said that he will not take this step, which would start a two-year countdown until Britain’s departure.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin earlier Tuesday that Britain could not expect special treatment and “cherry-pick” in its negotiations.

“Anyone wishing to leave this family cannot expect to lose all the obligations but keep the privileges,” Ms Merkel told the German Parliament.

She added that the EU could survive a Brexit. “The EU is strong enough to withstand Britain’s withdrawal,” she said. “It is also strong enough to successfully defend its interests in the world in future.” Voicing confidence in the union as it confronts the first defection since its founding, Ms Merkel said the EU would continue to be a guarantor of “peace, prosperity and stability”.

Location: Germany, Berliini, Berlin