Brexit: EU leaders demand quick United Kingdom exit as fallout grows

Britain need not send a formal letter to the European Union to trigger a two-year countdown to its exit from the bloc, EU officials said, implying British Prime Minister David Cameron could start the process when he speaks at a summit on Tuesday.

Britain’s vote to leave the European Union threatens not only Obama’s security efforts across the globe but the USA economic recovery and the global trade agenda he is pursuing in his final seven months in office.

Credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the U.K.’s economic outlook from stable to negative, saying Britain faces “a prolonged period of uncertainty … with negative implications for the country’s medium-term growth outlook”.

The referendum turnout was 71.8%, with more than 30 million people voting.

France’s Ayrault suggested Britain could name a new prime minister within “several days” – but that is likely instead to take several months.

But European powers urged Britain not to delay amid fears of a domino-effect of exit votes in eurosceptic member states that could imperil the integrity of the bloc.

In a statement following the meeting, the foreign ministers of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands said they “expect the United Kingdom government to provide clarity and give effect to this decision as soon as possible”.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said “there is a certain urgency … so that we don’t have a period of uncertainty, with financial consequences, political consequences”.

“The special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is enduring, and the United Kingdom’s membership in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation remains a vital cornerstone of USA foreign, security, and economic policy”, Obama said.

“There is no need to be particularly nasty in any way in the negotiations”.

Earlier, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker warned London against foot-dragging.

Corbyn said Saturday he would not resign and said Britain must react “calmly and rationally” to the divisive referendum result.

“I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination”, Cameron said, signaling that he would step down by October, when the Conservatives hold a party conference.

Brexit is seen as a referendum on globalisation, combining the economic impact of EU trade regulations with the fearful refrain about immigration, which, for many pro-Brexiters, is bolstered by the Schengen visa agreement that allows those who have gained entry to a European Union member state to move freely among other EU countries.

“I am anxious, really sick for my children’s prospects”, said Lindsey Brett, a 57-year-old secretarial worker.

“Inward investment by China into the United Kingdom under the dialogue has been focused on infrastructure projects and I wouldn’t expect that should change with Brexit, but on financial services projects with China, that’s at significant risk now”, said Andrew Naylor, a Singapore-based executive director at Cicero Group, a consultancy that has been helping Asian financial firms weigh the Brexit risks. “I did not think we would come out”, she said in central London.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will meet her Cabinet on Saturday to discuss the country’s next move.

She also repeated an assertion she first made Friday that a second referendum on Scottish independence is very much an option on the table.

Britain’s decision to quit the European Union could send damaging shockwaves through the bedrock Anglo-American “special relationship”, raising questions about London’s willingness and ability to back US -led efforts in global crises ranging from the Middle East to Ukraine.

The results are in: After a long night of vote counting, the final results have been issued: 51.9% of voters chose to leave the European Union, while 48.1% wanted to remain.

Older voters backed Brexit but the young and well educated mainly wanted to stay in the EU.

“I feel angry. Those who voted leave, they’re not going to fight the future”, said Mary Treinen, 23, a technological consultant from London’s trendy Shoreditch district.

Heather Conley, director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said Britain’s divorce from the European Union, which could take up to two years, would now be “an all-consuming process” that could distract it from such efforts.

Britain’s departure – which is not immediate and must be negotiated with the EU – could present the next USA president with a decision on whether to turn to other key European partners like Germany and France, essentially downgrading a special US bond with London forged in World War Two.