Everyone was deprived the day
Britain voted to withdraw from the European Union but those who
remain musn't waste time turning the page, Premier Matteo Renzi
said Monday.
The June 23 referendum vote in the UK has deprived everyone
of "the delicate beauty of the European sentiment," Renzi told
reporters after meeting with French President Francois Hollande
and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin to discuss the
implications.
"The day after the referendum we woke up deprived of
something - a precious object had been taken away from us,"
Renzi said.
"We must turn the page," he said. "We can't waste time. But
at the same time, let us work on a strategy in the coming months
that brings us to the heart of what Europe must be".
The Brexit vote "saddens us but it is also true that this
is a propitious time for the EU to turn a new page," Renzi
added.
Speaking after markets closed down and bank shares suffered
heavy losses on the Milan stock exchange, Renzi called for
"caution, common sense and balance".
"There is no time to lose, but we are in a position to face
and fix any problems that could arise, in the credit world and
beyond," the Italian premier said.
He, like Merkel, denied France, Germany and Italy are
setting up a three-way "directorate" to steer the EU in the
aftermath of the Brexit.
Today's three-way summit "only reinforces our capacity to
act in the wake of the (Brexit) referendum" but the ultimate
decision will be taken jointly by the remaining EU members,
Merkel said after a reporter asked whether a "directorate" was
in the works.
The EU is "a complex organization in which each contributes
- it doesn't have a directorate," Renzi echoed her.
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