Over a million people signed a petition in the United Kingdom calling for a second referendum over the country’s EU membership following the shock Brexit vote. The petition will now have to be discussed in the British Parliament, having crossed the 1,00,000 signature-mark that is required to trigger a debate in the House of Commons.
The petition, till now has garnered 13,00,321 signatures and the number is constantly rising. Meanwhile, in Berlin, the EU’s founding nations said on Saturday that they want Britain to begin leaving the union “as soon as possible”. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU need not be particularly nasty in the exit talks with Britain.
Meanwhile, in london, the petition, signed by 13,00,321 supporters and growing by the hour, led to the collapse of the website of the House of Commons for some time because of the high numbers of people who visited the website to ask for the rerun.
The petition, set up by William Oliver Healey on Friday, hours after the shocking Brexit result, called for implementing the rule that “if the Remain or leave vote is less than 60 per cent based on a turnout less than 75 per cent, there should be another referendum”.
Parliament released a message on its official website that it will consider the request for a discussion, as Parliament is committed to consider any request or initiative with more than 1,00,000 signatures.
The committee concerned with petitions will meet on Tuesday to decide whether to approve a debate in this regard.
A total of 51.9 per cent of Britons voted on Thursday to leave the EU in a referendum, nicknamed “Brexit” with the participation of 72.1 per cent of voters.
Meanwhile, on Saturday France urged a new British Prime Minister to take office as quickly as possible. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, hosting the six original States of the EU in Berlin, said they were in agreement that london must not wait to start the complex procedure of extracting itself from the bloc.
“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 but rather can focus on the future of Europe and the work toward it.”
The European Union must heed “the expectations of the people” on issues such as migration and unemployment as it responds to Britain’s vote to leave the bloc, Germany’s Foreign Minister said on Saturday.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier was meeting with top diplomats from the EU’s five other founding nations in Berlin for hastily arranged talks following Britain’s stunning vote Thursday to leave the union.
The German foreign minister invited his counterparts from France, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and luxembourg to the Government’s Villa Borsig mansion on the outskirts of Berlin.
As he was heading into the meeting, Steinmeier implied it is important for leaders to better connect with the EU’s more than 500 million citizens and react to their worries.
He said now is the time to find out what the 27 remaining EU countries want for the future of the union. He said they also needed to listen to the EU’s citizens and hear “the expectations of the people.”
Steinmeier mentioned the refugee crisis, high unemployment among young people in southern Europe and security concerns following the terror attacks in France and Belgium as important issues where people had the right to expect better answers from EU policy makers.
However, he cautioned against making rash decisions. “It’s totally clear that in times like these, one should neither be hysterical nor fall into paralysis,” Steinmeier said.
Almost defiantly, he said that “I’m certain that countries that have something to say will not allow that their Europe will be taken away.”
The EU was built in the grim aftermath of World War II with the hope of leading the destroyed continent to a more peaceful and prosperous future. First launched as the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, it was turned into the European Economic Community in 1957 by the six founding members present in Berlin this weekend.
Gradually, more and more western European States joined. With the fall of communism in 1989, the economic and political union also opened its doors to eastern and central European countries like Hungary and Poland.
Despite the union’s current crisis, Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said they would “try to go further now with the European integration.”
“We need to discuss with the U.K. The way out, but we need also to discuss how it is possible to do more with some partners or with 27 member states in different concrete fields,” Reynders told reporters.
Cartoon by Nirjhar Som