BRUSSELS: The British decision to leave the European Union (EU) caused shock and surprise in the rest of Europe. Many EU officials had expected that the UK would vote to remain a member.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she “greatly regretted” the UK decision before urging people to remain calm and to avoid making hasty decisions. That chimed in with leaders of the British leave campaign who said there is no reason for the UK to leave the European Union too quickly.

Legally, the timing of Brexit is in London’s hands. As things stand Britain remains a member of the EU. The next step is for the UK to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty by officially notifying Brussels of its intention to leave. That would trigger a two-year period to negotiate the terms of the divorce.

Leave campaign leaders fear that given the UK will have to consider tens of thousands of pages of EU existing agreements, a short deadline could give the EU officials the upper hand in the negotiations. Extending the two-year deadline would require the agreement of all the other 27 member states.

But some in Europe argue that since Britain has decided to leave, the sooner it does so, the better in part because international investors will press for quick talks to avoid a further period of uncertainty. European Commission chief Jean Claude Juncker warned the EU “will not bend over backwards” to help Britain in the negotiations to come.

Access to market

The key issue is what Europe will demand in return for access to its markets. “The single market cannot be for free,” said Roberto Gualtieri, an Italian MEP and Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee who may now be involved in the Brexit negotiations.

Mr Gualtieri rejected the claim made by some leaders during the leave campaign that the UK could have access to the single European market without having to accept free movement of labour. “That was a lie; they will see unfortunately,” he said

Currently, Norway and Switzerland have access to the single market despite not being EU members. “Norway pays 94 per cent of what the UK pays [in contributions to the EU budget]; they have to implement regulations over which they have no say and they have to accept free movement of labour,” Mr Gualtieri said.

But while some Europeans are talking tough, other observers believe that EU officials will look for ways to limit the impact of the Brexit vote. “They are already trying to find some kind of model that allows not a complete break and to keep some of the trade intact,” said Jan Techau, Director of the think tank Carnegie Europe.

Elsewhere in Europe, some are already demanding their own referenda. The French National Front leader Marine le Pen believes the British result bunged a “victory for freedom” and said that she now wants an in/out vote in France. In Brussels, some Members of the European Parliament representing the rightist and euro sceptical parties agree. “It could happen. The domino effect could happen for sure,” said Laura Ferrara, an Italian MEP from the Five Star Movement.

Other voices from France, according to Reuters, are calling for the EU to reinvent itself to prevent its break-up and restore the confidence of voters.

President Francois Hollande says his country must navigate a fine line between tackling French voters’ increasing disillusionment with the EU and France’s ambition to be in the driving seat alongside the bloc’s powerhouse Germany.

He said he would make proposals to ensure the EU moved forward on key remits of security and defence, investment for growth and jobs, and reinforcing the euro zone.

On Wednesday, EU leaders will meet without the British counterpart David Cameron to discuss the “divorce process” with London in the aftermath of Brexit, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Friday.

The 28 EU national leaders will hold a two-day summit from Tuesday afternoon in Brussels. Prime Minister Cameron will brief the other 27 over dinner, summit chairman Tusk wrote in a letter to leaders laying out the agenda for the long-scheduled meeting.

In Washington, President Barack Obama said that strong US ties to Britain and the European Union would endure after British chose to leave the EU in a referendum that sent US officials scrambling to contain political and economic fallout.

“The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision,” said Mr Obama, who had argued passionately for close Nato ally Britain to stay in the group.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2016