Brexit weighs like a boulder says Renzi

(ANSA) - Rome, June 27 - Renzi said Monday that Britain's vote to leave the European Union "weighs on the history of the EU like a boulder". "We are faced with a historic event," Renzi told the Senate as he reported to parliament before this week's European summit.
    "Anyone who tried to play it down or exploit it would be making a political mistake". Renzi is set to fly to Berlin later today for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and European Council President Donald Tusk ahead of a European summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. Also on Monday, ANSA sources said Renzi spoke to United States Secretary of State John Kerry on the telephone about the consequences of the Brexit. The EU has called on London to move quickly on exit negotiations but outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will not activate Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and will leave that to his successor. However, Renzi told the Senate the European Union can't afford to waste the next year debating the procedures for Britain's exit. "I won't discuss Article 50 and the rules of the game," Renzi told the Upper House. "We'll tackle these dynamics in Europe. But Italy says that Europe can do anything but spend a year discussing the procedures... In that way the message of the referendum will be lost".
    Britain's vote to leave the European Union could actually be a good opportunity for the bloc. "We will respect what the British decide but Europe must move because if we spend a year waiting, we'll lose the challenge with the priorities of our time," he told the Senate. "What happened in the United Kingdom could be the greatest opportunity for Europeans if we stop being on the defensive".
    In a report to the Lower House earlier in the day, Renzi said EU policymakers must not only focus on the budget deficits of countries such as Italy but rather switch to growth-oriented policies that will address social issues within the Union.
    "The European Union needs to put jobs and the social crisis at the centre of its agenda," Renzi told MPs, adding that while some countries' deficits are a problem, so are the surpluses of others.