Brexit leaves uncertainty in the European Union

In a sign of the fissures exposed by the June 23 vote, 1.2 million people signed a petition on the official government website by late morning calling for a repeat vote – more than 12 times the 100,000 signatures required for a proposal to be discussed in the lower house of parliament. But while Britain’s vote to leave the European Union might affect the contours of the USA economy, it may have very little effect on how rapidly the economy grows.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned London’s financial center would lose its prized “EU passport” if Britain fails to negotiate continued access to the bloc’s single market.

Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Friday he would resign after Britons voted 52-48 percent to exit the European Union, a result which sent global stock markets plunging, and inflicted the biggest one day drop on sterling in history.

The aftershocks of last week’s referendum are already beginning to ricochet through Europe and are reshaping the U.K.’s political landscape a day after Prime Minister David Cameron announced his intention to resign.

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

The question of European Union membership is a particularly potent one in Scotland after it became a major issue in the 2014 independence campaign, with Cameron arguing that only a vote to stay in the United Kingdom could guarantee ongoing membership in the bloc.

So far, the outcome of the referendum has not only caused political quake across Europe, but also sent shock waves aross European stock markets on Friday.

This, they worry, could lead to a domino effect of other countries wanting to leave too. “Citizens of Great Britain have chose to refuse the diktat from Brussels”, it said.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he wanted to begin negotiating Britain’s departure immediately while German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that there is no desperate rush for Britain to trigger the formal exit negotiation.

Scots voted against leaving the European Union in Thursday’s referendum and Sturgeon is looking for ways to keep that from happening.

Only the soothing reassurances of Bank of England Governor Mark Carney managed to ease the market carnage on Friday, as he pledged to stabilize markets if needed.

Credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the UK’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 British economy could also find it more costly to raise money.

European powers called for Britain to be shown the door quickly as they grappled with the impending loss of one of the world’s top economies, the first defection in the bloc’s 60-year history.

The French capital has been a rival to the City, as London’s financial center is known.

Britain’s opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn looks over his shoulder before delivering a speech on immigration and Britain’s exit from the European Union, at the Maxwell Library in London, Saturday June 25, 2016.

“If tomorrow Britain is not part of the single market, the City can not keep this European passport, and clearing houses can not be located in London either”, he said.

There was euphoria among Britain’s eurosceptic newspapers. They do not see a legal way to force Britain to start the process but have piled political pressure on Cameron to honor his pledge to launch Article 50 negotiations and respect the popular vote. Put another way, London would be starting at the very beginning – and with many European Union powers likely to bear grudges well into the future.

The United Kingdom itself could also now break apart. Scotland’s pro-EU First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her devolved government was preparing to present legislation allowing a second independence referendum while continuing discussions on its place within the EU.

“A second independence referendum is clearly an option that requires to be on the table”, she added.