Bye, Britannia!
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It seems that the EU’s response to Britain’s declaration of You’re not the boss of me! is Look! Mr. Door is open!
When Cameron announced on Friday morning that he would resign as prime minister by the autumn, he said it would be up to his successor to trigger the formal process of talks on the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU.
Johnson, the favourite to succeed Cameron, has also said there is no need to hurry triggering the formal process, a move he believes would limit the UK’s room for manoeuvre.
But after an emergency meeting of ministers from the bloc’s six founder members, Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said negotiations should begin “as soon as possible” and that Britain had a responsibility to work with the EU on exit terms.
His French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault, suggested that unless the UK acted fast, the sense of crisis could spread. He said there was “a certain urgency … so that we don’t have a period of uncertainty, with financial consequences, political consequences”. The president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, reinforced the message, saying the split with the UK was “not an amicable divorce” after what was not “a tight love affair, anyway”. Talks to end membership should begin immediately.
Translation: Va te faire foutre.
Meanwhile, several people have asked What’s Boris up to these days?
A source close to Johnson said he had not made a decision on the leadership race but was focusing more on reassuring the country after the Brexit vote.
Here’s a preview.
