Brussels, 29/06/2016 (Agence Europe) – While the result of the referendum on the United Kingdom’s position in the European Union did not go his way, outgoing UK Prime Minister David Cameron said in Brussels on Tuesday 28 June that he did not regret having held it.
“It was the right thing to do”, he said of the referendum, won by supporters of the UK’s exit from the EU, at his final appearance before the press in Brussels. Speaking of the sadness that permeated the discussions with the other 27 European leaders and stating that he would have preferred to have won, the prime minister confirmed that he would leave it to his successor to activate and conduct the United Kingdom’s withdrawal and to negotiate the new relationship with the EU. He declined to give an exact timetable for the start of the withdrawal process.
For Cameron, the goal now is to work constructively to find the best possible form of partnership with the EU. He also acknowledged that the United Kingdom could not hope to leave the EU and retain all the benefits of membership of the bloc.
He used his last European summit to highlight some of the positives of belonging to the EU: adoption of sanctions against Russia, great progress in terms of economic growth and job creation, and tackling bureaucracy.
Redefining the relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom will be a challenge, he recognised. However, even outside the EU, the UK will remain a member of the United Nations Security Council, the G7 and the G20, he said. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)