Brexit The Observer EU governments pile pressure on UK to leave as soon as possible Six founding member states demand earliest start to Brexit process, but they cannot compel UK to invoke article 50 The foreign ministers of the EU’s founding states in Berlin on Saturday. Photograph: Kay Nietfeld/EPA 
  
 EU governments have piled pressure on the UK to leave the union as soon as possible, saying talks on the exit must begin promptly and urging that a new British prime minister is installed quickly. 
  
 What is Article 50 and why is it so central to the Brexit debate? Read more 
  
 As Europe scrambled on Saturday to limit the damage from the momentous Brexit vote, however, there seemed little it could immediately do to force Britain to speed up the pace of its departure from the 60-year-old bloc. 
  
 Meeting for emergency talks in Berlin, foreign ministers from the EU’s six founding member states demanded the earliest possible start to the Brexit process. 
  
 France’s foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, said Britain must trigger article 50 of the Lisbon treaty, the procedure for leaving the EU. 
  
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest The French foreign minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault. Photograph: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images 
  
 There was “a certain urgency”, Ayrault said after the meeting with his counterparts from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, adding that David Cameron should step aside soon for a new leader to manage the transition out of the union. 
  
 “A new prime minister must be designated, that will take a few days,” he said, adding that it would “not be respectful” to delay the process. 
  
 On Friday, Cameron had said he would delay the start of Brexit negotiations until his successor was in place in the autumn. 
  
 The German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said the ministers “join together in saying that this process must begin as soon as possible, so we don’t end up in an extended limbo period”. 
  
 Steinmeier told a press conference at the German foreign ministry guesthouse on the outskirts of Berlin that Cameron had a “responsibility beyond the UK” to initiate formal steps for Britain’s exit and “give us a chance to engage with the European Union’s future … we call on Britain to trigger article 50 as soon as possible.” 
  
 Earlier, the president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said the British had voted to leave and “it doesn’t make any sense to wait until October to try to negotiate the terms of their departure”. 
  
 Juncker, who said Britain’s departure would not be “an amicable divorce” but observed it was never “a tight love affair anyway”, said he would “like to get started immediately”. 
  
 Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, said he hoped “we won’t get into a cat and mouse game over this. That would neither be fitting for Britain nor the European Union.” 
  
 Emmanuel Macron, the French economy minister, said at a Paris debate on Europe that the top priority was to arrange a “smooth, rapid and very well-organised” UK exit, adding: “We have to be organised, and we don’t have to wait for months and months. Now we need a quick fix on this situation.” 
  
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Emmanuel Macron, centre, speaks during a symposium at the Institute of Political Science in Paris on Saturday. Photograph: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images 
  
 In Brussels, the office of Donald Tusk, president of the European council, said Didier Seeuws, a Belgian aide to Tusk’s predecessor, Herman Van Rompuy, would head the union’s taskforce to negotiate Britain’s exit from the union and had started on the preparatory work. 
  
 The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, speaking separately at a news conference in Potsdam, saidit “shouldn’t take forever” for Britain to deliver formal notification that it wants to leave the EU, but she “would not fight over a short period of time”. 
  
 EU referendum: Pro-Brexit MEP admits free movement of labour may not end – live Read more 
  
 Making it clear that the matter was ultimately in London’s hands, Merkel said there was “no need to be particularly nasty in any way in the negotiations. They must be conducted properly.” 
  
 Much as the EU might like Britain to go fast, there are few legal means to compel it to start the process of leaving. 
  
 “There is no mechanism to compel a state to withdraw from the European Union,” said Kenneth Armstrong, professor of European law at Cambridge University. 
  
 “Article 50 is there to allow withdrawal, but no other party has the right to invoke article 50, no other state or institution. While delay is highly undesirable politically, legally there is nothing that can compel a state to withdraw.” 
  
 Article 7 of the Lisbon treaty can be used to suspend a member state for breaching fundamental EU rights, but it is considered a “nuclear option”, and Britain has done nothing to warrant it. 
  
 The shock waves from Thursday’s vote continue to spread, having already driven sterling down to its lowest level for 30 years and wiping more than $2tn (£1.5tn) from the value of world stock markets. 
  
 Britain’s European commissioner, Jonathan Hill, announced on Saturday that he would resign, saying he did not “believe it is right that I should carry on as the British commissioner as though nothing had happened”. 
  
  
  
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Britain’s EU commissioner, Jonathan Hill. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters 
  
 Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi, was expected in Paris to meet the French president, François Hollande, who said on Saturday that Europe had to offer people “a perspective” in the face of mounting populism. 
  
 “It is always easier to unmake than make, but the consequences are extremely serious,” he said on a visit to the eastern French city of Colmar. 
  
 The flurry of diplomatic activity came ahead of a key meeting in Berlin on Monday between Merkel, Hollande, Renzi and Tusk. 
  
 The EU’s 28 commissioners are also due to meet on Monday, in Brussels, with a two-day summit of national leaders following on Tuesday and Wednesday. 
  
 With Euroscepticism on the rise across the continent, many have said the Brexit vote must be seen as a wake-up call for a union increasingly losing touch with its people. 
  
 Cameron will attend the first day of the summit and is expected to explain Britain’s position at a dinner on Tuesday evening. He will then return to London and will not take part in the second day of the proceedings, according to Tusk’s invitation letter released on Friday night. 
  
  
  
 Cameron’s position is that it would be up to his successor, expected to be appointed before the Conservative party conference in October, to trigger article 50. Once that is done, the clock starts running on two years of negotiations. 
  
 Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London and a leading leave campaigner, said there should be “no haste” in the preparations for the exit of Britain, the first sovereign country to vote to leave the union. 
  
 The president of the European parliament, Martin Schulz, told the Guardian that EU lawyers were studying whether it was possible to speed up the triggering of article 50. 
  
 He said it was difficult to accept that “a whole continent is taken hostage because of an internal fight in the Tory party”, adding that he doubted the timing of article 50 was down to the UK alone. 
  
 “We have to take note of this unilateral declaration that they want to wait until October, but that must not be the last word,” he said. ||||| Image copyright EPA Image caption People gathered to protest outside the Houses of Parliament following the leave result 
  
 More than 2.5 million people have signed a petition calling for a second EU referendum, after the vote to leave. 
  
 It has more signatures than any other on the parliamentary website and as it has passed 100,000, Parliament will consider it for a debate. 
  
 Editor's note: The following day, the House of Commons petitions committee said it was investigating allegations of fraud in connection with the petition and had already removed 77,000 signatories - and was monitoring it for further suspicious activity. 
  
 The UK voted to leave the EU by 52% to 48% in Thursday's referendum but the majority of voters in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backed Remain. 
  
 David Cameron has previously said there will be no second referendum. 
  
 On Friday he said he would stand down as prime minister by October following the leave result. 
  
 A House of Commons spokeswoman said the petition was created on 24 May. There were 22 signatures on it at the time the referendum result was announced. 
  
 She said the petition site had temporarily gone down at one point following "exceptionally high volumes of simultaneous users on a single petition, significantly higher than on any previous occasion". 
  
 Raise profile 
  
 The petition's website states it was set up by an individual called William Oliver Healey, and says: "We the undersigned call upon HM Government to implement a rule that if the Remain or Leave vote is less than 60%, based on a turnout less than 75%, there should be another referendum." 
  
 Thursday saw a 72.2% turnout, significantly higher than the 66.1% turnout at last year's general election, but below the 75% mark suggested by Mr Healey as a threshold. 
  
 The Scottish independence referendum in 2014 had a turnout of 84.6% - but there has not been a turnout above 75% at any general election since 1992. 
  
 A debate in Parliament is a good way to raise the profile of an issue with law makers but it does not automatically follow that there will be a change in the law. 
  
 Analysis 
  
 Image copyright UK Government 
  
 By Iain Watson, political correspondent 
  
 The fact that more than one and a half million people have signed a petition calling for a second EU referendum has attracted a lot of attention - but it has zero chance of being enacted. 
  
 The main reason is that it is asking for retrospective legislation. It suggests another referendum is required because the winning side got less than 60% of the vote, and there was less than a 75% turnout. 
  
 You can have thresholds in referendums. 
  
 The 1979 referendum to set up a Scottish parliament failed because a clause was inserted in to the legislation requiring more than 40% of all eligible voters - not just those taking part - to agree to devolution before it took place. 
  
 But that clause came in advance - everyone was clear about the rules. You can't simply invent new hurdles if you are on the losing side. 
  
 The other reason is that if a petition gets more than 100,000 signatures it can then - with the agreement of a committee of MPs - be debated in Parliament, but there is no legal obligation to act on it. 
  
 However, there is talk around Westminster- in the wake of a plunging currency and falling share prices - of whether any deal on Brexit negotiated with the EU should then be put to a referendum further down the line. 
  
 The UK will remain an EU member for the next two years at least - so it's not over until it's over. 
  
 Some would greet this with horror and cries of 'foul' - others with relief. 
  
 UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has campaigned for the UK to leave the EU throughout his political career, said in May that a narrow win for Remain could cause unstoppable demand for a rerun of the referendum. 
  
 He said at the time that a result that saw Remain win by 52% to 48% would mean "unfinished business by a long way". 
  
 But Mr Cameron has said the referendum was a "once in a generation, once in a lifetime" decision, saying the UK had "referendums not neverendums". 
  
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption David Cameron said he would step down as prime minister after the UK voted to leave the EU 
  
 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also rejected the idea of a second referendum, saying: "We have got to accept that decision." 
  
 Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy later tweeted that people could "stop this madness through a vote in Parliament". 
  
 He said there should be a vote in the Commons next week on whether the UK goes forward with Brexit. 
  
 'Make divorce official' 
  
 The parliamentary petitions system is overseen by the Petitions Committee, which considers whether petitions that receive more than 100,000 signatures should be raised in the House of Commons and debated. 
  
 The committee is due to sit again on Tuesday. 
  
 In a separate petition more than 100,000 people have called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to declare the English capital independent from the UK and apply to join the EU. 
  
 Across all 33 boroughs in London 59.9% of people voted to stay in the EU, with the Remain vote more than 70% in some boroughs. 
  
 The page, set up by James O'Malley, states: "London is an international city, and we want to remain at the heart of Europe. Let's face it - the rest of the country disagrees... let's make the divorce official and move in with our friends on the continent." 
  
 Mr Khan has said he has no doubt London will "continue to be the successful city" but called for the UK to remain part of the single market. 
  
 Former London Mayor Boris Johnson, one of the leading Leave campaigners and the bookmakers' odds-on favourite to succeed Mr Cameron, has insisted the UK is not "turning its back" on Europe. 
  
 He said the decision would not make the UK any less tolerant or outward looking and would not reduce opportunities for young people. ||||| FILE - In this June 22, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks in New York. Widespread economic angst. Intense opposition to immigration policy. The rise of populist and... (Associated Press) 
  
 FILE - In this June 22, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks in New York. Widespread economic angst. Intense opposition to immigration policy. The rise of populist and nationalist sentiments, particularly among less-educated and older white voters. The politics that... (Associated Press) 
  
 DENVER (AP) — Widespread economic angst. Intense opposition to immigration policy. The rise of populist and nationalist sentiments, particularly among less-educated and older white voters. 
  
 The politics behind the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union sound awfully familiar to the politics that have propelled Donald Trump to the Republican presidential nomination. 
  
 But before saying the victory by the "leave" side is a harbinger of a Trump victory on Election Day in the United States, it's wise to consider the many differences between the two allied nations with historic ties like few others. 
  
 The greatest difference: The United States is a significantly more racially diverse nation. 
  
 A look at that and some of the other essential differences, and important similarities, in this turbulent political season. 
  
 ___ 
  
 IMMIGRATION 
  
 The "leave" vote was widely seen as a backlash against a recent influx of legal immigrants to the U.K. In the U.S. race, Trump dominated the Republican presidential field after he pledged to build a wall on America's southern border as a way to reduce illegal immigration. 
  
 The percentage of the U.K. population born in another country recently reached an all-time high of 13 percent, the same as the foreign-born share of the U.S. population. "American politicians would do well to heed this lesson," said Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, which supports reducing immigration to the U.S. 
  
 But Britain's recent spike in immigration has been much more abrupt. The 2001 adoption of rules allowing free migration between EU member countries triggered an influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe into Britain, nearly doubling the number of foreign-born people living in the U.K. 
  
 "It often is the rate of change, rather than the volume" that can set off anxiety about immigration, said Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, assistant director of the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute's international program. 
  
 The United States has for generations styled itself as a nation of immigrants. While current U.S. immigration numbers are high, they were even greater between 1860 and 1930. Much of the angst in the U.S. election has been about illegal immigration, as opposed to the overall numbers of those coming into the county legally. 
  
 ___ 
  
 DIVERSITY 
  
 The much greater racial and ethnic diversity in the United States is a reflection of its immigration history, along with the legacy of slavery that saw millions of blacks brought forcibly from Africa. Nonwhite minorities make up 38 percent of the U.S. population, compared with just 14 percent in the U.K. 
  
 The percentage of whites eligible to vote in U.S. elections has dropped from 78 percent in 2000 to an estimated 69 percent this fall. Minority voters historically lean overwhelmingly Democratic in presidential elections, a trend that strongly favors Trump's White House rival, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. 
  
 There were no independent exit polls conducted Thursday in the U.K., so the racial breakdown of the electorate isn't known. But returns in the referendum suggest whites in England voted solidly in favor of leaving, while whites in Scotland supported remaining. The overall 52-48 outcome suggests whites as a whole were fairly evenly divided in the U.K. 
  
 ___ 
  
 GEOGRAPHY 
  
 The U.K. vote featured a geographic split that parallels the familiar urban-rural divide in U.S. politics. 
  
 London provided the greatest base of support for remaining in the EU, while more rural areas of the U.K. voted to leave. Trump's support has been especially strong in more rural and less educated parts of the United States. Republicans in U.S. general elections also tend to fare better in rural areas and smaller cities and towns, while Democrats find many of their voters in America's urban centers. 
  
 The World Bank says about 17 percent of the population in each country lives in rural areas. But the numbers can be deceiving because the United States electorate is spread across many large cities. 
  
 London and its suburbs comprise about one-fifth of Britain's population, while almost one-third of Americans live in the areas around the 10 biggest cities. 
  
 "There is this big divide between London and the rest of the country," said Tom Wright of the Brookings Institute, who tracks British and American politics. "It tends to be more of an urban-rural thing in the U.S., while in England it's one city that tends to operate in a different economic world." 
  
 Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, who has worked in both countries, said the U.K. lacks the large suburbs that are critical contested areas in U.S. presidential races. "They just don't have the same kind of suburban thing as we do," he said. That gives extra clout to small-town and rural Britain. 
  
 ___ 
  
 REFERENDUM VS. ELECTION 
  
 The choice on whether to leave the EU was decided in a national referendum, while the U.S. selects the president in state-by-state votes. It's possible for the loser of the national popular vote to end up winning the White House, as Republican George W. Bush did over Democrat Al Gore in 2000. That difference alone makes a comparison a risky proposition. 
  
 Furthermore, referendum votes such as the U.K.'s on Thursday involve mostly faceless policy ideas. Presidential elections revolve around individuals. 
  
 "The Brexit vote did not have a candidate," said Republican pollster Whit Ayres, even if it was driven by "the same forces that drove Donald Trump to the hostile takeover of the Republican Party." 
  
 Trump can try to capitalize on economic frustrations, wariness about immigrants and a resentment of the political establishment, as the "leave" campaigners did successfully. 
  
 But Ayres' said Americans' decision this fall is "an evaluation of the two nominees," specifically "assessments of a candidate's character, leadership, trustworthiness." 
  
 That, he said, renders any "apples-to-apples" comparison between the two votes "impossible." 
  
 ___ 
  
 Barrow reported from Atlanta. 
  
 ___ 
  
 Follow Nicholas Riccardi and Bill Barrow on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/NickRiccardi and http://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP ||||| EDINBURGH/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - First Minister Nicola Sturgeon vowed on Saturday to protect Scotland’s European Union membership and said a fresh independence referendum was possible after Britain voted to leave the bloc. 
  
 Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks during an emergency cabinet meeting at Bute House in Edinburgh, Scotland June 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jane Barlow/Pool 
  
 “We will seek to enter into immediate discussions with the EU institutions and with other EU member states to explore all possible options to protect Scotland’s place in the EU,” said Sturgeon, speaking outside her official residence in the Scottish capital. 
  
 “A second (Scottish) independence referendum is clearly an option that requires to be on the table, and it is very much on the table,” she said. 
  
 The EU executive, which was cool to Scots’ demands to stay in the EU before their 2014 vote on independence from the United Kingdom, was non-committal, however, as Brussels grapples with how to handle unprecedented divorce proceedings with Britain. 
  
 Scots rejected independence in the 2014 referendum by 55-45 percent and at the time the vote was considered a decisive verdict for a generation. Since then support for independence has not shifted significantly, according to polls. 
  
 But on Thursday, the United Kingdom voted overall to leave the EU, but Scots voted by 62-38 percent to remain. Sturgeon’s SNP says many Scots opted against independence in 2014 because they believed that was the only way to guarantee EU membership. 
  
 The SNP argues Thursday’s outcome changes the case for independence, and many Scots may reassess their 2014 vote. Sturgeon said on Friday a new referendum was “highly likely”. 
  
 After meeting ministers in her devolved government on Saturday, Sturgeon said Scotland would not allow its EU membership to be taken away and would seek to build broad-based support at home and abroad to maintain it. 
  
 She said she would establish a panel of experts to advise the Scottish government on legal, financial and diplomatic matters concerning EU membership. 
  
 EU REACTION 
  
 The European Commission reacted by saying Scotland was “part of the UK”. It declined to “speculate further.” 
  
 A source close to the Scottish government said Edinburgh was not discouraged and took that only “as a statement of fact.” 
  
 Other EU governments are wary of encouraging the Scottish overtures, despite some increase in sympathy around the bloc for the position pro-European Scots now find themselves in. 
  
 A Polish center-right member of the European Parliament, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, tweeted on Saturday about Scotland’s hosting of many Polish workers now and of Poland’s exile army in World War Two: “Thank you Scotland!” he said. “Welcome in EU!” 
  
 EU diplomats stressed that Scotland faces many hurdles to joining a bloc consumed by Brexit and that several veto-holding member states, notably Spain, fear a Scottish secession could boost their own separatist movements. 
  
 “We have other problems on our heads right now than feeding Scottish nationalism,” said one senior EU diplomat. 
  
 “Let them try and consult with Madrid first.” 
  
 The Scottish Greens, the parliamentary kingmaker for Sturgeon, said any new vote should be decided by “clear public appetite”, but included the independence option. 
  
 Slideshow (2 Images) 
  
 “It is too soon to say whether and when a further referendum on Scottish independence will take place, but in the wake of the EU referendum result few people will doubt that it must be on the table,” a spokesman for the party told Reuters. 
  
 Willie Rennie, leader of Scotland’s pro-EU Liberal Democrats, said in a statement he had committed his party to backing Sturgeon’s EU negotiation process, but had received a guarantee this was not a ruse for a new independence drive. 
  
 Splitting Scotland from England would end three centuries of shared statehood, upending another successful economic relationship shortly after the now-impending divorce between Britain and the EU. ||||| BRUSSELS—Jonathan Hill, the U.K.’s commissioner to the European Union, announced he would step down from the position, a day after the U.K.’s referendum result to leave the bloc was announced. 
  
 The departure of Mr. Hill, who is in charge of the bloc’s important financial services portfolio, had been regarded in Brussels as inevitable following... |||||

Write a summary.
– Now that Britain has voted to leave the European Union, EU leaders don't see any point in dragging things out. Foreign ministers from the bloc's six founding nations held an emergency meeting in Berlin Saturday and urged Britain to trigger Article 50 as soon as possible instead of leaving months of uncertainly before negotiations begin, the Guardian reports. "We have to turn the page, we don't want to create a vacuum," says Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders. "It won't be business as usual." Prime Minister David Cameron is stepping down and he wants his successor, who might not be in place until October, to handle exit negotiations. In other developments: A petition urging the British government to hold a second referendum now has more than 1.5 million signatures, well above the 100,000 threshold that will require lawmakers to consider it. The petition calls for a do-over on the grounds that the vote in favor of a Brexit was less than 60%, based on a turnout less than 75%, the BBC reports. The New York Times looks at the rifts the British decision has opened up in the UK and across Europe. Far-right parties across Europe are now calling for referendums on leaving the EU, while a new Scottish referendum on leaving the UK now seems certain. The British vote also exposed tensions between young and old, richer and poorer, and London and much of the rest of the country. Does the Brexit victory signal electoral success for Donald Trump? The AP looks at reasons why it might not, including the fact that the US is a much more diverse nation than the UK. Scotland voted to stay in the EU, and Reuters reports that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is not only preparing for a fresh independence vote, she is seeking separate Scottish negotiations with the EU. "We will seek to enter into immediate discussions with the EU institutions and with other EU member states to explore all possible options to protect Scotland's place in the EU," she told reporters Saturday. UK Commissioner to the EU Jonathan Hill, the highest-ranking Brit in Brussels, is stepping down, the Wall Street Journal reports. "I don't believe it is right that I should carry on as the British commissioner as though nothing had happened," he said, expressing disappointment that Britain had voted against staying in the EU and pressing for an "outward-looking, flexible, competitive, free trade Europe." The Washington Post looks at the potential financial consequences of the British exit for Americans. It may make mortgages a little cheaper, for some, and will probably make vacations in the UK more affordable.
Brexit Observatören EU-regeringarna utövar påtryckningar på Storbritannien att lämna landet så snart som möjligt Sex grundande medlemsstater kräver tidigast början på Brexitprocessen, men de kan inte tvinga Storbritannien att åberopa artikel 50 Utrikesministrarna i EU:s grundande stater i Berlin på lördagen. Fotografi: Kay Nietfeld/EPA EU:s regeringar har satt press på Storbritannien att lämna facket så snart som möjligt, och säger att samtalen om utgången måste inledas snabbt och uppmanar till att en ny brittisk premiärminister snabbt installeras. Vad är artikel 50 och varför är den så central i Brexitdebatten? Läs mer När Europa rusade på lördagen för att begränsa skadorna från den betydelsefulla Brexit-omröstningen, verkade det dock inte mycket som det omedelbart kunde göra för att tvinga Storbritannien att påskynda sin avgång från det 60-åriga blocket. Vid ett möte för brådskande samtal i Berlin krävde utrikesministrarna från EU:s sex grundande medlemsstater att Brexit-processen skulle inledas så snart som möjligt. Frankrikes utrikesminister Jean-Marc Ayrault sade att Storbritannien måste utlösa artikel 50 i Lissabonfördraget, förfarandet för att lämna EU. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Frankrikes utrikesminister Jean-Marc Ayrault. Fotografi: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images Det var “en viss brådska”, Ayrault sade efter mötet med sina motsvarigheter från Belgien, Tyskland, Italien, Luxemburg och Nederländerna, tillägger att David Cameron bör stiga åt sidan snart för en ny ledare att hantera övergången ur facket. “En ny premiärminister måste utses, som kommer att ta några dagar,” sade han och tillade att det skulle “inte vara respektfullt” att fördröja processen. På fredagen hade Cameron sagt att han skulle fördröja starten av Brexit förhandlingar tills hans efterträdare var på plats på hösten. Den tyske utrikesministern Frank-Walter Steinmeier sade att ministrarna tillsammans säger att denna process måste inledas så snart som möjligt, så att vi inte hamnar i en längre limboperiod. Steinmeier berättade en presskonferens på det tyska UD pensionat i utkanten av Berlin att Cameron hade ett “ansvar utanför Storbritannien” för att inleda formella steg för Storbritanniens utträde och “ge oss en chans att engagera sig i Europeiska unionens framtid ... vi uppmanar Storbritannien att utlösa artikel 50 så snart som möjligt.” Tidigare sade ordföranden för Europeiska kommissionen, Jean-Claude Juncker, britterna hade röstat för att lämna och “det är inte vettigt att vänta till oktober för att försöka förhandla villkoren för deras avgång”. Juncker, som sade att Storbritanniens avresa inte skulle vara ”en vänskaplig skilsmässa” men konstaterade att det aldrig var ”en stram kärleksaffär i alla fall”, sade han ”vill komma igång omedelbart”. Luxemburgs utrikesminister, Jean Asselborn, sade att han hoppades att ” vi inte skulle komma in i ett katt- och musspel över detta. Det skulle varken passa Storbritannien eller Europeiska unionen.” Emmanuel Macron, den franske ekonomiministern, sade vid en Parisdebatt om Europa att högsta prioritet var att ordna en ”mjuk, snabb och mycket välorganiserad” brittisk exit, och tillade: ”Vi måste vara organiserade, och vi behöver inte vänta i månader och månader. Nu behöver vi en snabb fix på denna situation.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Emmanuel Macron, center, talar under ett symposium på Institute of Political Science i Paris på lördag. Fotografi: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images I Bryssel skulle Donald Tusk, ordförande för Europeiska rådet, säga att Didier Seeuws, belgisk medhjälpare till Tusks föregångare, Herman Van Rompuy, skulle leda fackets arbetsgrupp för att förhandla om Storbritanniens utträde ur facket och hade påbörjat förberedelserna. Den tyska kanslern Angela Merkel talade separat vid en nyhetskonferens i Potsdam och sade att det inte skulle ta för lång tid för Storbritannien att lämna en formell anmälan om att landet vill lämna EU, men hon “skulle inte slåss under en kort tidsperiod”. EU:s folkomröstning: Europaparlamentsledamoten Pro-Brexit medger att den fria rörligheten för arbetskraft inte får upphöra – live Läs mer Att klargöra att frågan i slutändan låg i Londons händer, Merkel sade att det ”inte behöver vara särskilt otäckt på något sätt i förhandlingarna. De måste genomföras på rätt sätt.” Hur mycket EU än vill att Storbritannien ska gå snabbt, finns det få lagliga medel för att tvinga landet att inleda processen med att lämna landet. “Det finns ingen mekanism för att tvinga en stat att dra sig ur Europeiska unionen”, sade Kenneth Armstrong, professor i europeisk rätt vid Cambridge University. ”Artikel 50 tillåter utträde, men ingen annan part har rätt att åberopa artikel 50, ingen annan stat eller institution. Även om försening är mycket oönskad politiskt, finns det juridiskt ingenting som kan tvinga en stat att dra sig tillbaka.” Artikel 7 i Lissabonfördraget kan användas för att upphäva en medlemsstat för brott mot grundläggande EU-rättigheter, men den anses vara ett ”kärnkraftsalternativ”, och Storbritannien har inte gjort något för att rättfärdiga det. Chockvågorna från torsdagens omröstning fortsätter att sprida sig, efter att redan ha drivit sterling ner till sin lägsta nivå på 30 år och torka mer än $ 2tn (£ 1.5tn) från värdet på världens aktiemarknader. Storbritanniens EU-kommissionär Jonathan Hill meddelade på lördagen att han skulle avgå och sade att han inte ansåg att det var rätt att jag skulle fortsätta som brittisk kommissionär som om ingenting hade hänt. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Storbritanniens EU-kommissionär, Jonathan Hill. Fotografi: Yves Herman/Reuters Italiens premiärminister Matteo Renzi förväntades i Paris träffa den franske presidenten François Hollande, som på lördagen sade att Europa måste erbjuda människor ett perspektiv inför den växande populismen. — Det är alltid lättare att göra ogjort än göra, men följderna äro ytterst allvarliga, sade han vid ett besök i den östra franska staden Colmar. Diplomatverksamhetens rysning kom inför ett nyckelmöte i Berlin i måndags mellan Merkel, Hollande, Renzi och Tusk. EU:s 28 kommissionsledamöter ska också sammanträda på måndag, i Bryssel, med ett tvådagarstoppmöte mellan de nationella ledarna efter tisdag och onsdag. Med EU-skepticismen på uppgång över kontinenten har många sagt att Brexit-omröstningen måste ses som en väckarklocka för en union som i allt högre grad tappar kontakten med sitt folk. Cameron kommer att närvara den första dagen av toppmötet och förväntas förklara Storbritanniens ståndpunkt vid en middag på tisdag kväll. Han återvänder sedan till London och kommer inte att delta i den andra dagen av förhandlingarna, enligt Tusks inbjudningsbrev som släpptes på fredag kväll. Camerons ståndpunkt är att det skulle vara upp till hans efterträdare, som förväntades utses före den konservativa partikonferensen i oktober, att utlösa artikel 50. När det är gjort börjar klockan att löpa på två års förhandlingar. Boris Johnson, Londons tidigare borgmästare och en ledande leave-kampanjör, sade att det inte skulle vara någon brådska i förberedelserna för Storbritanniens utträde, det första suveräna land som röstade för att lämna unionen. Europaparlamentets talman Martin Schulz berättade för Väktaren att EU-jurister undersöker om det är möjligt att påskynda utlösandet av artikel 50. Han sade att det var svårt att acceptera att “en hel kontinent tas som gisslan på grund av en intern kamp i Torypartiet”, och tillade att han tvivlade på tidpunkten för artikel 50 var ner till Storbritannien ensam. – Vi måste notera denna ensidiga förklaring att de vill vänta till oktober, men det får inte vara sista ordet, sade han. Bild copyright EPA Bildtext Folk samlades för att protestera utanför parlamentets hus efter ledigheten resultat Mer än 2,5 miljoner människor har undertecknat en petition som kräver en andra EU folkomröstning, efter omröstningen att lämna. Den har fler namnunderskrifter än någon annan på parlamentets webbplats, och eftersom den har passerat 100 000 kommer parlamentet att betrakta den som en debatt. Utskottet för ekonomi, valutafrågor och industripolitik har antagit ett betänkande (A4-0265/98) av Oomen-Ruijten för utskottet för ekonomi, valutafrågor och industripolitik om förslaget till Europaparlamentets och rådets direktiv om ändring av rådets direktiv 93/7/EEG om tillnärmning av medlemsstaternas lagstiftning om samordning av lagar och andra författningar om rätten att starta och driva verksamhet i kreditinstitut och värdepappersföretag. Storbritannien röstade för att lämna EU med 52 % till 48 % i torsdagens folkomröstning men majoriteten av väljarna i London, Skottland och Nordirland stödde Remain. David Cameron har tidigare sagt att det inte kommer att bli någon andra folkomröstning. På fredagen sade han att han skulle avgå som premiärminister i oktober efter ledigheten resultatet. En underhustaleskvinna sade att petitionen skapades den 24 maj. Det fanns 22 underskrifter på den vid den tidpunkt då folkomröstningsresultatet tillkännagavs. Hon sade att namninsamlingssajten tillfälligt hade gått ner vid ett tillfälle efter "utomordentligt höga volymer av samtidiga användare på en enda petition, betydligt högre än vid något tidigare tillfälle". Höj profilen I namninsamlingens webbplats står det att den inrättades av en individ vid namn William Oliver Healey, och säger: "Vi undertecknad uppmanar HM:s regering att genomföra en regel att om Rest or Leave-rösten är mindre än 60%, baserat på ett valdeltagande under 75%, bör det bli ytterligare en folkomröstning." I torsdags var det 72,2 procents valdeltagande, vilket är betydligt högre än det 66,1 procents valdeltagandet vid förra årets allmänna val, men under den 75-procentiga gräns som Healey föreslog. Den skotska självständighetsomröstningen 2014 hade ett valdeltagande på 84,6 % - men det har inte varit ett valdeltagande över 75 % vid något allmänt val sedan 1992. En debatt i parlamentet är ett bra sätt att lyfta fram en fråga med lagstiftare, men det följer inte automatiskt att det kommer att ske en lagändring. Analys Image copyright UK Government By Iain Watson, politic correspondent Det faktum att mer än en och en halv miljon människor har undertecknat en namninsamling som kräver en andra folkomröstning i EU har väckt stor uppmärksamhet - men det har ingen chans att bli antagen. Huvudskälet är att den efterfrågar retroaktiv lagstiftning. Man föreslår att det krävs ytterligare en folkomröstning eftersom den vinnande sidan fick mindre än 60 procent av rösterna, och det blev mindre än 75 procent valdeltagande. Man kan ha trösklar i folkomröstningar. Folkomröstningen 1979 om att inrätta ett skotskt parlament misslyckades eftersom en klausul infördes i lagstiftningen som krävde att mer än 40 procent av alla valberättigade väljare - inte bara de som deltog - gick med på delegering innan den ägde rum. Men den klausulen kom i förväg - alla var tydliga med reglerna. Du kan inte bara uppfinna nya hinder om du är på den förlorande sidan. Det andra skälet är att om en framställning får mer än 100 000 underskrifter kan den - med godkännande av ett utskott av parlamentsledamöter - debatteras i parlamentet, men det finns ingen rättslig skyldighet att agera i enlighet med den. Det talas dock om Westminster - i kölvattnet av en fallande valuta och fallande aktiekurser - om huruvida någon uppgörelse om Brexit som förhandlats med EU sedan bör föras till en folkomröstning längre fram. Storbritannien kommer att förbli EU-medlem i minst två år - så det är inte över förrän det är över. Vissa skulle hälsa detta med fasa och rop av 'foul' - andra med lättnad. UKIP:s ledare Nigel Farage, som har kämpat för att Storbritannien ska lämna EU under hela sin politiska karriär, sade i maj att en snäv vinst för Remain skulle kunna orsaka ohejdbart krav på en repris av folkomröstningen. Han sade på den tiden att ett resultat som såg Rest vinna med 52% till 48% skulle innebära "oavslutade affärer på ett långt sätt". Men David Cameron har sagt att folkomröstningen var ett "en gång i en generation, en gång i livet" beslut, som säger att Storbritannien hade "folkomröstningar inte aldrig". Image copyright Reuters Image caption David Cameron sade att han skulle avgå som premiärminister efter att Storbritannien röstat för att lämna EU Labour ledare Jeremy Corbyn har också avvisat idén om en andra folkomröstning, säger: "Vi måste acceptera det beslutet." Labour MP för Tottenham David Lammy twittrade senare att folk kunde "stoppa denna galenskap genom en omröstning i parlamentet". Han sade att det borde hållas en omröstning i Commons nästa vecka om huruvida Storbritannien går vidare med Brexit. ”Gör skilsmässan officiell” Systemet för framställningar i parlamentet övervakas av utskottet för framställningar, som undersöker om framställningar som får mer än 100 000 underskrifter bör tas upp i underhuset och debatteras. Utskottet ska sitta igen på tisdag. I en separat petition har mer än 100 000 personer uppmanat Londons borgmästare Sadiq Khan att förklara den engelska huvudstaden oberoende från Storbritannien och ansöka om medlemskap i EU. Över alla 33 stadsdelar i London röstade 59,9 procent av människorna för att stanna i EU, och resterande röstsiffror var mer än 70 procent i vissa stadsdelar. På sidan, som är uppsatt av James O'Malley, står det: "London är en internationell stad, och vi vill förbli i hjärtat av Europa. Låt oss inse det - resten av landet är oense ... låt oss göra skilsmässa officiella och flytta in med våra vänner på kontinenten." Khan har sagt att han inte tvivlar på att London kommer att "fortsätta att vara den framgångsrika staden" men manade till att Förenade kungariket skulle förbli en del av den inre marknaden. Den tidigare Londonborgmästaren Boris Johnson, en av de ledande Leave-kampanjörerna och bookmakers odds-on favorit att efterträda Mr Cameron, har insisterat på att Storbritannien inte "vänder ryggen" mot Europa. Han sade att beslutet inte skulle göra Storbritannien mindre tolerant eller utåtriktat och inte minska möjligheterna för ungdomar. FILE - I denna 22 juni 2016 fil foto, republikan presidentkandidat Donald Trump talar i New York. En utbredd ekonomisk oro. Intensivt motstånd mot invandringspolitiken. Uppkomsten av populist och... (Associated Press) FILE - I detta 22 juni 2016 fil foto, republikan presidentkandidat Donald Trump talar i New York. En utbredd ekonomisk oro. Intensivt motstånd mot invandringspolitiken. De populistiska och nationalistiska stämningarnas uppgång, särskilt bland mindre utbildade och äldre vita väljare. Den politik som... (Förenade Pressen) DENVER (AP) — Vida spridd ekonomisk angst. Intensivt motstånd mot invandringspolitiken. De populistiska och nationalistiska stämningarnas uppgång, särskilt bland mindre utbildade och äldre vita väljare. Politiken bakom Storbritanniens röst för att lämna Europeiska unionen låter väldigt bekant för den politik som har drivit Donald Trump till den republikanska presidentnomineringen. Men innan man säger segern av "lämna" sidan är ett förebud om en Trump seger på valdagen i USA, är det klokt att överväga de många skillnaderna mellan de två allierade nationerna med historiska band som få andra. Den största skillnaden: Förenta staterna är en betydligt mer rasistiskt mångskiftande nation. En titt på det och några av de andra väsentliga skillnaderna, och viktiga likheter, under denna turbulenta politiska säsong. ___ INVANDRING "Lämna"-omröstningen sågs allmänt som ett bakslag mot en nyligen tillströmning av lagliga invandrare till Storbritannien. I den amerikanska rasen dominerade Trump det republikanska presidentfältet efter att han lovat att bygga en mur vid USA:s södra gräns som ett sätt att minska den illegala invandringen. Andelen av den brittiska befolkningen som föddes i ett annat land nådde nyligen en topp på 13 procent genom tiderna, samma som den utlandsfödda andelen av USA:s befolkning. "Amerikanska politiker skulle göra väl i att lyssna på denna läxa", sade Roy Beck, president för Numbers USA, som stöder att minska invandringen till USA. Men Storbritanniens senaste ökning av invandringen har varit mycket mer abrupt. 2001 års antagande av regler som tillåter fri migration mellan EU:s medlemsländer utlöste en tillströmning av invandrare från Östeuropa till Storbritannien, nästan fördubblat antalet utlandsfödda människor som bor i Storbritannien "Det är ofta förändringstakten, snarare än volymen" som kan utlösa oro för invandringen, sade Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, biträdande chef för Washington-baserade Migration Policy Institutes internationella program. USA har i generationer format sig som en nation av invandrare. Medan de nuvarande amerikanska invandringssiffrorna är höga, var de ännu större mellan 1860 och 1930. En stor del av oron i det amerikanska valet har handlat om olaglig invandring, i motsats till det totala antalet personer som kommer in i countyt lagligt. MÅNGFALD Den mycket större ras- och etniska mångfalden i USA är en återspegling av dess invandringshistoria, tillsammans med arvet från slaveriet som såg miljontals svarta föras med våld från Afrika. Icke vita minoriteter utgör 38 procent av USA:s befolkning, jämfört med bara 14 procent i Storbritannien. Andelen vita röstberättigade i USA:s val har sjunkit från 78 procent år 2000 till uppskattningsvis 69 procent i höst. Minoritetsväljare lutar historiskt överväldigande demokratiskt i presidentval, en trend som starkt gynnar Trumps Vita huset rival, presumtiv demokratisk nominerad Hillary Clinton. Det gjordes inga oberoende utmätningar i Storbritannien. Så väljarnas rasnedbrytning är inte känd. Men i folkomröstningen tyder på att vita i England röstade fast för att lämna, medan vita i Skottland stödde att stanna kvar. Det totala resultatet 52-48 tyder på att vita som helhet var ganska jämnt fördelade i Storbritannien ___ GEOGRAFIN Den brittiska omröstningen presenterade en geografisk splittring som paralleller den bekanta stads-landsbygdsklyftan i USA:s politik. London utgjorde den största stödbasen för att stanna kvar i EU, medan fler landsbygdsområden i Storbritannien röstade för att lämna landet. Trumps stöd har varit särskilt starkt i mer lantliga och mindre utbildade delar av USA. Republikanerna i USA:s allmänna val tenderar också att klara sig bättre på landsbygden och i mindre städer och städer, medan demokraterna finner många av sina väljare i USA:s urbana centra. Världsbanken säger att omkring 17 procent av befolkningen i varje land bor på landsbygden. Men siffrorna kan bedra eftersom USA:s väljarkår är spridd över många stora städer. London och dess förorter utgör ungefär en femtedel av Storbritanniens befolkning, medan nästan en tredjedel av amerikanerna bor i områdena runt de 10 största städerna. "Det är denna stora klyfta mellan London och resten av landet", sade Tom Wright vid Brookings Institute, som spårar brittisk och amerikansk politik. "Det tenderar att vara mer av en urban-landsbygd sak i USA, medan det i England är en stad som tenderar att verka i en annan ekonomisk värld." Demokratisk opinionsbildare Mark Mellman, som har arbetat i båda länderna, sade att Storbritannien saknar de stora förorterna som är kritiska ifrågasatta områden i USA:s presidentraser. "De har helt enkelt inte samma slags förortsgrej som vi", sade han. Det ger extra kraft till småstads- och landsbygdsbritannien. ___ HÄNSYN TILL VS. VAL Valet om att lämna EU beslutades i en nationell folkomröstning, medan USA väljer president i delstatsröster. Det är möjligt för förloraren av den nationella folkomröstningen att sluta vinna Vita huset, som republikanen George W. Bush gjorde över demokraten Al Gore år 2000. Enbart den skillnaden gör en jämförelse till ett riskfyllt förslag. Vidare innebär folkomröstningsröster som Storbritanniens på torsdag mestadels ansiktslösa politiska idéer. Presidentval kretsar kring individer. "Brexit-omröstningen hade ingen kandidat", sade republikanen Posster Whit Ayres, även om den drevs av "samma krafter som drev Donald Trump till det fientliga övertagandet av det republikanska partiet." Trump kan försöka dra nytta av ekonomiska frustrationer, försiktighet om invandrare och en förbittring av det politiska etablissemanget, som "lämna" kampanjerna gjorde framgångsrikt. Men Ayres beslut i höst är "en utvärdering av de två nominerade", specifikt "bedömningar av en kandidats karaktär, ledarskap, pålitlighet". Det, sade han, återger varje "äpplen-till-äpplen" jämförelse mellan de två rösterna "omöjligt". Barrow rapporterade från Atlanta. ___ Följ Nicholas Riccardi och Bill Barrow på Twitter på: http://twitter.com/NickRiccardi och http://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP-Edinburgh/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - First Minister Nicola Sturgeon svor på lördagen att skydda Skottlands EU-medlemskap och sade att en ny folkomröstning om självständighet var möjlig efter att Storbritannien röstat för att lämna blocket. Skottlands försteminister Nicola Sturgeon talar under ett kriskonselj på Bute House i Edinburgh, Skottland 25 juni 2016. REUTERS/Jane Barlow/Pool “Vi kommer att försöka inleda omedelbara diskussioner med EU:s institutioner och med andra EU-medlemsstater för att undersöka alla möjliga alternativ för att skydda Skottlands plats i EU”, sade Sturgeon och talade utanför sitt officiella residens i den skotska huvudstaden. “En andra (skotska) självständighet folkomröstning är helt klart ett alternativ som kräver att vara på bordet, och det är mycket på bordet,” sade hon. EU:s verkställande organ, som var svalt över skottarnas krav på att stanna kvar i EU före 2014 års omröstning om självständighet från Förenade kungariket, var dock inte förpliktande, eftersom Bryssel brottas med hur man ska hantera skilsmässoförfaranden utan motstycke med Storbritannien. Skottar avvisade självständigheten i folkomröstningen 2014 med 55-45 procent och vid tidpunkten ansågs omröstningen vara ett avgörande utslag för en generation. Sedan dess har stödet för självständighet inte skiftat nämnvärt, enligt opinionsundersökningar. Men på torsdagen röstade Storbritannien totalt sett för att lämna EU, men skottarna röstade med 62-38 procent för att stanna kvar. Sturgeons SNP säger att många skottar valde självständighet 2014 eftersom de trodde att det var det enda sättet att garantera EU-medlemskap. Den SNP argumenterar torsdagens resultat ändrar argumentet för självständighet, och många skottar kan omvärdera sin 2014 röst. Sturgeon sade på fredagen att en ny folkomröstning var “mycket troligt”. Efter att ha träffat ministrar i sin decentraliserade regering i lördags sade Sturgeon att Skottland inte skulle tillåta att dess EU-medlemskap togs bort och skulle försöka bygga upp ett brett stöd hemma och utomlands för att upprätthålla det. Hon sade att hon skulle inrätta en expertpanel för att ge råd till den skotska regeringen i rättsliga, finansiella och diplomatiska frågor som rör EU-medlemskap. EU:s REAKTION Europeiska kommissionen reagerade genom att säga att Skottland var ”en del av Storbritannien”. Den avböjde att "spekulera vidare". En källa nära den skotska regeringen sade Edinburgh var inte modfälld och tog det bara "som ett faktum". Andra EU-regeringar är försiktiga med att uppmuntra de skotska uvertyrerna, trots en viss ökning av sympatin runt blocket för positionen proeuropeiska skottar befinner sig nu i. En polsk center-högerledamot av Europaparlamentet, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, twittrade på lördagen om Skottlands värdskap för många polska arbetare nu och för Polens exilarmé i andra världskriget: “Tack Skottland!” sade han. ”Välkommen till EU!” betonade EU:s diplomater att Skottland står inför många hinder för att gå med i ett block som förbrukas av Brexit och att flera vetobärande medlemsstater, särskilt Spanien, är rädda för att en skotsk utbrytning skulle kunna öka deras egna separatistiska rörelser. – Vi har andra problem på huvudet just nu än att mata skotsk nationalism, sade en högt uppsatt EU-diplomat. “Låt dem först försöka samråda med Madrid.” De skotska gröna, parlamentskungsmakaren för Sturgeon, sade att varje ny omröstning skulle beslutas med “klar allmänhetens aptit”, men inkluderade självständighetsalternativet. Bildspel (2 Images) “Det är för tidigt att säga om och när ytterligare en folkomröstning om skotsk självständighet kommer att äga rum, men i kölvattnet av EU-omröstningen resultat få människor kommer att tvivla på att det måste vara på bordet,” en talesman för partiet berättade Reuters. Willie Rennie, ledare för Skottlands EU-vänliga liberaldemokrater, sade i ett uttalande att han hade åtagit sig sitt parti att stödja Sturgeons EU-förhandlingsprocess, men hade fått en garanti att detta inte var ett knep för en ny självständighetskampanj. Att dela Skottland från England skulle innebära slutet på tre århundraden av delat statsskick, vilket skulle innebära att ytterligare en framgångsrik ekonomisk förbindelse uppstod kort efter den nu väntade skilsmässan mellan Storbritannien och EU. Bryssel-Jonathan Hill, Storbritanniens kommissarie i Europeiska unionen, meddelade att han skulle avgå från posten, en dag efter att Storbritanniens folkomröstningsresultat om att lämna blocket tillkännagavs. Herr Hill, som ansvarar för blockets viktiga portfölj av finansiella tjänster, hade i Bryssel betraktats som oundviklig efter...
Brexit The Observer The EU governments are putting pressure on the UK to leave as soon as possible Six founding Member States require the earliest start of the Brexit process, but they cannot force the UK to invoke Article 50 Foreign Ministers of the founding states of the EU in Berlin on Saturday. Photograph: Kay Nietfeld/EPA EU governments have put pressure on the UK to leave the union as soon as possible, saying that talks on the outcome must start quickly and calling for a new British Prime Minister to be quickly installed. What is Article 50 and why is it so central to the Brexit debate? Read more When Europe rushed on Saturday to limit the damage from the significant Brexit vote, however, it did not seem that it could immediately do to force Britain to speed up its departure from the 60-year-old bloc. At an urgent meeting in Berlin, the Foreign Ministers of the six founding Member States of the EU called for the Brexit process to be launched as soon as possible. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that the UK must trigger Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, the procedure for leaving the EU. Facebook Twitter Pinterest French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. Photography: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images It was “a certain urgency”, Ayrault said after the meeting with his counterparts from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, adding that David Cameron should step aside soon for a new leader to deal with the transition out of the union. “A new Prime Minister must be appointed, who will take a few days,” he said adding that it would “not be respectful” to delay the process. By Friday, Cameron had said he would delay the start of Brexit negotiations until his successor was in place in the fall. The German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said that the ministers together say that this process must start as soon as possible so that we do not end up in a longer limbo period. Steinmeier told us a press conference at the German UD boarding house on the outskirts of Berlin that Cameron had a “responsibility outside the UK” to begin formal steps for Britain’s exit and “give us a chance to get involved in the future of the European Union ... we urge the UK to trigger Article 50 as soon as possible.” Earlier, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said the British had voted to leave and “it makes no sense to wait until October to try to negotiate the terms of their resignation.” Juncker, who said that Britain's departure would not be 'a friendly divorce' but noted that it was never 'a tight love affair anyway', said he 'want to get started immediately'. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn, said he hoped that "we would not get into a cat and mouse game over this. Emmanuel Macron, the French Minister for Economic Affairs, said in a Paris debate on Europe that the top priority was to organise a 'soft, fast and very well organised' British exit, adding: 'We must be organised, and we do not have to wait months and months. Now we need a quick fix on this situation.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Emmanuel Macron, center, speaks during a symposium at the Institute of Political Science in Paris on Saturday. Photography: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images In Brussels, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, would say that Didier Seeuws, Belgian aide to Tusk's predecessor, Herman Van Rompuy, would lead the union working group to negotiate Britain's exit from the union and had begun preparations. German chancellor Angela Merkel spoke separately at a news conference in Potsdam saying that it would not take too long for the UK to submit a formal notification that the country wants to leave the EU, but she “would not fight for a short period of time”. EU referendum: MEP Pro-Brexit admits that the free movement of labour must not stop – live Read more To make it clear that the issue was ultimately in London's hands, Merkel said that it "doesn't have to be very nasty in any way in the negotiations. They need to be properly implemented.’ However much the EU wants Britain to move quickly, there are few legal means to force the country to start the process of leaving the country. “There is no mechanism to force a state to withdraw from the European Union,” said Kenneth Armstrong, professor of European law at Cambridge University. ‘Article 50 allows withdrawal, but no other party has the right to invoke Article 50, no other State or institution. Although delay is very undesirable politically, there is nothing legally that can force a state to withdraw.’ Article 7 of the Treaty of Lisbon can be used to repeal a Member State for breaches of fundamental EU rights, but it is considered a ‘nuclear option’, and the UK has done nothing to justify it. The shock waves from Thursday's vote continue to spread, having already driven sterling down to its lowest level in 30 years and drying more than $2tn (£1.5tn) from the value of world stock markets. UK European Commissioner Jonathan Hill announced on Saturday that he would resign and said that he did not think it was right for me to continue as British Commissioner as if nothing had happened. Facebook Twitter Pinterest UK Commissioner for European Affairs, Jonathan Hill. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was expected in Paris to meet French President François Hollande, who said on Saturday that Europe must offer people a perspective in the face of growing populism. “It’s always easier to undo than do, but the consequences are extremely serious,” he said on a visit to the eastern French city of Colmar. The chill of diplomacy came before a key meeting in Berlin on Monday between Merkel, Hollande, Renzi and Tusk. The 28 members of the EU will also meet on Monday, in Brussels, with a two-day summit of national leaders after Tuesday and Wednesday. With Euroscepticism on the rise across the continent, many have said that the Brexit vote must be seen as a wake-up call for a Union that is increasingly losing touch with its people. Cameron will be present on the first day of the summit and is expected to explain Britain's position at a dinner on Tuesday night. He then returns to London and will not participate in the second day of the negotiations, according to Tusk's invitation letter released on Friday night. Cameron's position is that it would be up to his successor, who was expected to be appointed before the Conservative Party Conference in October, to trigger Article 50. Once it's done, the clock begins to run on two years of negotiations. Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London and a leading leave campaigner, said there would be no urgency in preparing for Britain's exit, the first sovereign country to vote to leave the Union. The President of the European Parliament, Mr Schulz, told the Guardian that EU lawyers are investigating whether it is possible to speed up the triggering of Article 50. He said it was difficult to accept that “an entire continent is taken hostage due to an internal struggle in the Tory Party”, adding that he doubted the timing of Article 50 was down to Britain alone. We must take note of this unilateral declaration that they want to wait until October, but that must not be the last word, he said. Image copyright EPA Caption People gathered to protest outside Parliament's house after leave results More than 2.5 million people have signed a petition calling for a second EU referendum, after the vote to leave. It has more signatures than anyone on Parliament's website, and since it has passed 100,000, Parliament will regard it as a debate. The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy has adopted a report (A4-0265/98) by Mrs Oomen-Ruijten, on behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy, on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directive 93/7/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions and investment firms. The UK voted to leave the EU with 52% to 48% in Thursday's referendum but the majority of voters in London, Scotland and Northern Ireland supported Remain. David Cameron has said in the past that there will be no second referendum. On Friday, he said he would resign as Prime Minister in October after the leave result. A lower house spokeswoman said the petition was created on May 24. There were 22 signatures on it at the time the referendum results were announced. She said the petition site had temporarily gone down at one point after "exceptionally high volumes of simultaneous users on a single petition, significantly higher than at any previous occasion". Raise the profile In the petition website, it says it was established by an individual named William Oliver Healey, saying, "We signed urge the HM government to implement a rule that if the Rest or Leave vote is less than 60%, based on a turnout below 75%, there should be another referendum." Last Thursday there was 72.2 percent turnout, which is significantly higher than the 66.1 percent turnout at last year's general election, but below the 75% limit proposed by Healey. The 2014 Scottish independence vote had a turnout of 84.6% - but there has not been a turnout above 75% at any general election since 1992. A debate in Parliament is a good way of highlighting an issue with legislators, but it does not automatically follow that there will be a legislative change. Analysis Image copyright UK Government By Iain Watson, political correspondent The fact that more than one and a half million people have signed a petition calling for a second referendum in the EU has attracted much attention - but it has no chance of being adopted. The main reason is that it calls for retroactive legislation. It is proposed that a further referendum is required because the winning side received less than 60% of the vote, and there was less than 75% turnout. You can have thresholds in referendums. The 1979 referendum on the establishment of a Scottish Parliament failed because a clause was introduced into legislation requiring more than 40% of all eligible voters - not just those who participated - to agree to delegation before it took place. But that clause came in advance - everyone was clear about the rules. You can't just invent new obstacles if you're on the losing side. The second reason is that if a petition receives more than 100 000 signatures, it can - with the approval of a committee of MEPs - be debated in Parliament, but there is no legal obligation to act accordingly. However, there is talk of Westminster - in the wake of a falling currency and falling stock prices - of whether any deal on Brexit negotiated with the EU should then be taken to a referendum later on. The UK will remain an EU member for at least two years - so it is not over until it is over. Some would greet this with horror and cries of 'foul' - others with relief. UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has fought for Britain to leave the EU throughout his political career, said in May that a tight win for Remain could cause unstoppable demand for a rerun of the referendum. He said at the time that a result that saw Rest win by 52% to 48% would mean "unfinished business in a long way". But David Cameron has said that the referendum was a "once in a generation, once in a lifetime" decision, saying that Britain had "referrals not never". Image copyright Reuters Image caption David Cameron said he would resign as Prime Minister after Britain voted to leave EU Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also rejected the idea of a second referendum, saying, "We must accept that decision." Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy later tweeted that people could "stop this madness by a vote in parliament". He said there should be a vote in the Commons next week on whether Britain is moving on with Brexit. The ‘Make the divorce official’ system of petitions in Parliament is supervised by the Committee on Petitions, which examines whether petitions receiving more than 100,000 signatures should be taken up in the House of Commons and debated. The committee's due back on Tuesday. In a separate petition, more than 100,000 people have called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to declare the English capital independent from the UK and apply for EU membership. Over all 33 districts in London, 59.9% of people voted to stay in the EU, and the remaining vote figures were more than 70% in some districts. On the side, which is set up by James O'Malley, it says: "London is an international city, and we want to remain at the heart of Europe. Let's face it - the rest of the country disagrees ... let's make divorce official and move in with our friends on the continent." Khan has said he has no doubt that London will "continue to be the successful city" but urged the United Kingdom to remain part of the internal market. Former London mayor Boris Johnson, one of the leading Leave campaigners and bookmakers' odds-on favorite to succeed Mr. Cameron, has insisted that Britain does not "turn its back" on Europe. He said the decision would not make Britain less tolerant or outgoing and not reduce opportunities for young people. FILE - In this June 22, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaking in New York City. widespread economic unrest; intensive opposition to immigration policy; The rise of populist and... (Associated Press) FILE - In this June 22, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaking in New York City. widespread economic unrest; intensive opposition to immigration policy; The rise of populist and nationalist sentiments, especially among less educated and older white voters. The Politics That... (United Press) Denver (AP) — Widespread Economic Angst. intensive opposition to immigration policy; The rise of populist and nationalist sentiments, especially among less educated and older white voters. The policy behind Britain's vote to leave the European Union sounds very familiar to the policy that has driven Donald Trump to the Republican presidential nomination. But before saying the victory of the "leave" side is a portent of a Trump victory on election day in the United States, it is wise to consider the many differences between the two Allied nations with historical ties that few others. The biggest difference: the United States is a far more racially diverse nation. A look at that and some of the other essential differences, and important similarities, during this turbulent political season. The 'Leave' vote was generally seen as a setback to a recent influx of legal immigrants into the UK. In the American race, Trump dominated the Republican presidential field after he promised to build a wall on the southern border of the United States as a means of reducing illegal immigration. The percentage of the British population born in another country recently peaked at 13 percent throughout the ages, the same as the foreign-born percentage of the United States population. "American politicians would do well to listen to this lesson," said Roy Beck, president of Numbers USA, who supports reducing immigration to the United States. But Britain's recent increase in immigration has been much more abrupt. The 2001 adoption of rules allowing free migration between EU Member States triggered an influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe to the UK, almost doubling the number of foreign-born people living in the UK "It is often the rate of change, rather than the volume" that may trigger concerns about immigration," said Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, assistant director of the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute's international program. The United States has for generations shaped itself as a nation of immigrants. While the current U.S. immigration figures are high, they were even larger between 1860 and 1930. Much of the concern in the U.S. election has been about illegal immigration, as opposed to the total number of people entering the county legally. MANY The much greater racial and ethnic diversity of the United States is a reflection of its immigration history, along with the legacy of slavery which saw millions of blacks brought by force from Africa. Non-white minorities account for 38 percent of the United States population, compared with only 14 percent in the United Kingdom. The proportion of white voters in the United States elections has fallen from 78 percent in 2000 to an estimated 69 percent in the autumn. Minority voters tilt historically overwhelmingly democratically in presidential elections, a trend strongly favoring Trump's White House rival, presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. There were no independent foreclosures in Britain, so the racial breakdown of voters is not known. However, in the referendum suggests that whites in England voted firmly to leave, while whites in Scotland supported staying behind. The total score 52-48 suggests that whites as a whole were fairly evenly distributed in the UK ___ GEOGRAPHIN The British vote presented a geographical split paralleling the familiar urban-rural divide in U.S. politics. London was the largest support base to remain in the EU, while more rural areas in the UK voted to leave the country. Trump's support has been particularly strong in more rural and less educated parts of the United States. The Republicans in the United States general election also tend to fare better in rural areas and in smaller cities and cities, while Democrats find many of their voters in the U.S. urban centers. The World Bank says that about 17% of the population of each country lives in rural areas. But the numbers can be deceiving because the United States electorate is spread across many large cities. London and its suburbs make up about one fifth of Britain's population, while nearly a third of Americans live in the areas around the 10 largest cities. "It's this great gulf between London and the rest of the country," said Tom Wright of the Brookings Institute, which traces British and American politics. "It tends to be more of an urban-rural thing in the United States, while in England it is a city that tends to operate in another economic world." Democratic opinion-former Mark Mellman, who has worked in both countries, said that Britain lacks the large suburbs that are critically contested areas in the United States presidential races. "They just don't have the same kind of suburban thing as us," he said. It gives extra power to the small town and rural Britain. ____ RESPECT OF VS. ELECTIONS The election to leave the EU was decided in a national referendum, while the United States elects president in state votes. It is possible for the loser of the national referendum to stop winning the White House, as Republican George W. Bush did over Democrat Al Gore in 2000. That difference alone makes a comparison to a risky proposal. Furthermore, referendum votes such as UK's on Thursday mostly involve faceless political ideas. Presidential elections revolve around individuals. "The Brexit vote had no candidate," said Republican Posster Whit Ayres, although it was driven by "the same forces that drove Donald Trump to the hostile takeover of the Republican Party." Trump may try to take advantage of economic frustrations, caution about immigrants and an resentment of the political establishment, which the "leave" campaigns did successfully. But Ayre's decision this fall is "an evaluation of the two nominees", specifically "assessments of a candidate's character, leadership, reliability". That, he said, reflects every "apple-to-apple" comparison between the two votes "impossible". Barrow reported from Atlanta. ___ Follow Nicholas Riccardi and Bill Barrow on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/NickRiccardi and http://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP-Edinburgh/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - First Minister Nicola Sturgeon swore on Saturday to protect Scotland's EU membership and said that a new referendum on independence was possible after the UK voted to leave the bloc. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks during a crisis council at Bute House in Edinburgh, Scotland 25 June 2016. REUTERS/Jane Barlow/Pool “We will try to engage in immediate discussions with the EU institutions and with other EU Member States to explore all possible options to protect Scotland’s place in the EU,” Sturgeon said and spoke outside his official residence in the Scottish capital. “A second (Scottish) independence referendum is clearly an option that requires being on the table, and there is a lot on the table,” she said. However, the EU executive body, which was starved at the Scottish demand to remain in the EU before the 2014 UK independence vote, was not binding, as Brussels is grappling with how to deal with unprecedented divorce proceedings with the UK. Scots rejected independence in the 2014 referendum by 55-45 percent and at the time the vote was considered a decisive ruling for a generation. Since then, support for independence has not shifted significantly, according to polls. But on Thursday, Britain voted overall to leave the EU, but the Scots voted 62-38% to stay. Sturgeon's SNP says that many Scots chose independence in 2014 because they thought that was the only way to guarantee EU membership. The SNP argues Thursday's results change the argument for independence, and many Scots can re-evaluate their 2014 vote. Sturgeon said on Friday that a new referendum was “very likely”. After meeting ministers in his decentralised government on Saturday, Sturgeon said Scotland would not allow its EU membership to be removed and would try to build up broad support at home and abroad to maintain it. She said she would set up a panel of experts to advise the Scottish government on legal, financial and diplomatic issues related to EU membership. EU REACTION The European Commission reacted by saying that Scotland was 'a part of Britain'. It declined to "speculate further." A source near the Scottish government said Edinburgh was not discouraged and took it only "as a fact." Other EU governments are cautious about encouraging the Scottish overtures, despite a certain increase in sympathy around the bloc for the position of pro-European Scots are now in. A Polish centre-right member of the European Parliament, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, tweeted on Saturday about Scotland's hosting of many Polish workers now and for Poland's exile army in World War II: “Thank you Scotland!” he said. 'Welcome to the EU!', EU diplomats stressed that Scotland faces many obstacles to joining a bloc consumed by Brexit and that several veto-bearing Member States, particularly Spain, fear that a Scottish secession could increase their own separatist movements. “We have other problems on our heads right now than feeding Scottish nationalism,” said a high-ranking European diplomat. “Let them first try to consult with Madrid.” The Scottish Greens, the parliamentary king-maker for Sturgeon, said that each new vote would be decided with “clear public appetite”, but included the independence option. Slideshow (2 Images) “It’s too early to say if and when another referendum on Scottish independence will take place, but in the wake of the EU vote results few people will doubt that it has to be on the table,” a spokesman for the party told Reuters. Willie Rennie, leader of Scotland's pro-European Liberal Democrats, said in a statement that he had committed himself to supporting Sturgeon's EU negotiation process, but had been guaranteed that this was not a trick for a new campaign of independence. Dividing Scotland from England would mean the end of three centuries of shared government, which would mean that another successful economic relationship arose shortly after the now awaited divorce between Britain and the EU. Brussels-Jonathan Hill, the UK commissioner in the European Union, announced that he would resign from the post, a day after Britain's referendum results to leave the bloc were announced. Mr. Hill, who is responsible for the block's important portfolio of financial services, had been regarded in Brussels as inevitable after...
– Nu när Storbritannien har röstat för att lämna EU ser EU:s ledare ingen mening med att dra ut på tiden. Utrikesministrar från blockets sex grundande nationer höll ett krismöte i Berlin lördag och uppmanade Storbritannien att utlösa artikel 50 så snart som möjligt istället för att lämna månader av osäkert innan förhandlingar inleds, rapporterar Guardian. "Vi måste vända på sidan, vi vill inte skapa ett vakuum", säger den nederländska utrikesministern Bert Koenders. "Det blir inte affärer som vanligt." Premiärminister David Cameron avgår och han vill att hans efterträdare, som kanske inte är på plats förrän i oktober, ska hantera utträdesförhandlingar. I övrigt: En framställning där den brittiska regeringen uppmanas att hålla en andra folkomröstning har nu mer än 1,5 miljoner underskrifter, långt över den tröskel på 100 000 som kommer att kräva att lagstiftarna överväger den. Framställningen kräver en omläggning med motiveringen att omröstningen för en Brexit var mindre än 60 procent, baserat på ett valdeltagande under 75 procent, rapporterar BBC. New York Times tittar på de sprickor som det brittiska beslutet har öppnat i Storbritannien och i hela Europa. Långt till höger i hela Europa kräver nu folkomröstningar om att lämna EU, medan en ny skotsk folkomröstning om att lämna Storbritannien nu verkar säker. Britterna röstar också avslöjade spänningar mellan unga och gamla, rikare och fattigare, och London och stora delar av resten av landet. Ger Brexitsegern Donald Trump en framgång? AP tittar på orsaker till varför det inte, inklusive det faktum att USA är en mycket mer varierad nation än Storbritannien. Skottland röstade för att stanna i EU, och Reuters rapporterar att försteminister Nicola Sturgeon inte bara förbereder sig för en ny självständighetsomröstning, hon söker separata skotska förhandlingar med EU. "Vi kommer att försöka inleda omedelbara diskussioner med EU-institutionerna och med andra EU-medlemsstater för att undersöka alla möjliga alternativ för att skydda Skottlands plats i EU", sade hon till reportrarna på lördag. Storbritanniens EU-kommissionär Jonathan Hill, den högst rankade britten i Bryssel, avgår, rapporterar Wall Street Journal. "Jag tror inte att det är rätt att jag fortsätter som brittisk kommissionär som om ingenting hade hänt", sade han, och uttryckte besvikelse över att Storbritannien hade röstat emot att stanna kvar i EU och tryckte på för ett "utåtriktat, flexibelt, konkurrenskraftigt, frihandelseuropa." Washington Post tittar på de potentiella ekonomiska konsekvenserna av den brittiska utgången för amerikaner. Det kan göra inteckningar lite billigare, för vissa, och kommer förmodligen att göra semester i Storbritannien mer prisvärd.
Now that Britain has voted to leave the EU, EU leaders see no point in dragging on. Foreign ministers from the bloc's six founding nations held an emergency meeting in Berlin Saturday and urged the UK to trigger Article 50 as soon as possible instead of leaving months of uncertain before negotiations begin, the Guardian reports. "We have to turn the side, we do not want to create a vacuum," said Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders. "It won't be business as usual." Prime Minister David Cameron resigns and he wants his successor, who may not be in place until October, to deal with exit negotiations. Otherwise, a petition calling on the British Government to hold a second referendum now has more than 1.5 million signatures, well above the threshold of 100 000 which will require legislators to consider it. The petition calls for a rescheduling on the grounds that the vote for a Brexit was less than 60%, based on a turnout below 75%, reports the BBC. The New York Times is looking at the cracks that the British decision has opened in Britain and throughout Europe. Far right across Europe now calls for referendums to leave the EU, while a new Scottish referendum on leaving Britain now seems safe. The British also vote revealed tensions between young and old, richer and poorer, and London and much of the rest of the country. Does Brexit victory Donald Trump make a success? AP looks at reasons why it does not, including the fact that the United States is a much more varied nation than Britain. Scotland voted to stay in the EU, and Reuters reports that First Minister Sturgeon is not just preparing for a new independence vote, she is seeking separate Scottish negotiations with the EU. "We will try to engage in immediate discussions with the EU institutions and with other EU Member States to explore all possible options to protect Scotland's place in the EU," she told reporters on Saturday. UK EU Commissioner Jonathan Hill, the highest ranking Briton in Brussels, resigns, reports the Wall Street Journal. "I don't think it's right for me to continue as British Commissioner as if nothing had happened," he said, expressing disappointment that Britain had voted against staying in the EU and pushing for an "outward, flexible, competitive, free trade Europe." The Washington Post looks at the potential economic consequences of the British outcome for Americans. It can make mortgages a little cheaper, for some, and will probably make holidays in the UK more affordable.