Leaders from the six European Union founding countries gathered in Berlin Saturday morning for an impromptu meeting to discuss the future of the EU and called for Britain to exit the bloc as quickly as possible.
"We join together in saying that this process must begin as soon as possible, so we don't end up in an extended limbo period but rather can focus on the future of Europe and the work toward it,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said following the meeting.
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.''
Along with Steinmeier and Ayrault, representatives from the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg all gathered at the government’s Foreign Ministry building along the outskirts of Berlin.
Steinmeier stressed the meeting wasn’t “an exclusive format,” and instead several different issues were discussed, including the refugee crisis, unemployment woes and EU security.
He also called on the remaining EU countries to adhere to “the spirit of the founders,” which was to avoid conflict following World War Two.
via Voice of America http://ift.tt/28VjTqt
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