GERMAN chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out allowing the UK time to renegotiate its continued membership of the European Union (EU) by delaying its exit in the hope of holding another referendum saying the decision to leave is irreversible.
Last week, the UK voted to leave the EU in a referendum with 52 of voters saying they wanted the country to quit the community. Under EU laws, the British government now has to trigger Article 50 of its constitution that will spark the commencement of exit negotiations between its government and the community.
Having now realised the full implications of the decision, Britain, however, appears to be having second thoughts, with several people calling for another referendum to reverse the decision. This week, Mr Cameron met with other EU leaders to tell them that he will not be triggering Article 50 for now and will leave that to a new prime minister.
With Mr Cameron due to stand down by October, it is hoped that the new British prime minister will be able to negotiate for time to allow the decision to be reversed. However, Chancellor Merkel has said that this will not be allowed as Britain's decision to leave is final and irreversible.
Chancellor Merkel added: “I see no way to reverse that. This is not the hour for wishful thinking as the referendum stands as a reality."
British political commentators had hoped that if the House of Commons rejects the referendum result, it might lead to a new referendum. It is also believed that a snap general election might help reverse the decision if conducting a fresh referendum is an election issue.
Comments
Post a Comment