Britain opted out of the European Union in a historic vote that was 52-48 in favour of an exit.
The exit has had seismic effects all around the world with the Pound Sterling plummeting and on a social front, an increase in xenophobia in Britain.
But it has been revealed that even though Britain has pulled out of the EU, the proceedings for the Divorce means that Britain might not actually divorce the EU for a period of time.
British Prime minister David Cameron, who resigned as a result of the leave vote has opted to stay on until at least a successor is found which could take as long as 3 months. Cameron’s successor will then begin divorce proceedings with the EU.
But the powers in the EU want to avoid this as much as possible and want exit proceedings commenced as soon 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,” said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier after a meeting in Berlin.
This meeting attended by the founding members of the EU — Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg — to grapple with the first defection in the bloc’s 60-year history.
The general feeling is that the EU want to get the Brexit over with. France’s Jean-Marc Ayrault stated in clear terms that they’d rather have Cameron leave quickly, saying “A new prime minister must be designated, that will take a few days but there is a certain urgency.”
This urgency is tied to fears that a prolonged exit negotiation might have other countries in the EU begin to think like Britain and attempt to leave weakening the power of the EU.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was a bit more diplomatic in her viewpoint saying, “There is no reason to be nasty in the negotiations. We have to follow the rules of the game,”