British Prime Minister David Cameron, left, is greeted by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at EU headquarters in Brussels on Feb. 16, 2016. Juncker said Britain had no ‘months to meditate’ before invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty indicating the United Kingdom’s Brexit from the EU. AP FILE
BRUSSELS, Belgium — Britain does not have “months to meditate” on the next steps following the Brexit vote, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said Tuesday.
“I have some understanding for the fact that (Prime Minister) David Cameron wants to have some time in order to meditate,” Juncker told a news conference after an EU summit.
“We want Article 50 (of the Lisbon Treaty formally stating Britain’s intention to leave) to be triggered as soon as possible… It has to be speeded up. We don’t have months to meditate, we have to act.”
Juncker added: “What I don’t understand is that those who wanted to leave (the EU) are totally unable to tell us what they want.
“I thought that if you want to leave you have a plan, you have a project, you have a global picture,” he said.
Juncker also said that he expected Britain to trigger Article 50 very soon after Cameron’s successor is named on September 9.
“If someone from the ‘Remain’ camp will become British PM this has to be done in two weeks after his appointment,” he said.
“If the next British PM is coming from the ‘Leave’ campaign it should be done the day after his appointment.”
EU President Donald Tusk meanwhile said leaders appreciated that the situation needs to calm down in Britain following the Brexit vote before the next steps can be taken.
“The leaders understood that some time is needed for the dust to settle,” Tusk said.