AFTER Britain voted to leave the European Union (EU) in a historic referendum, foreign ministers from six founding countries of the EU met in Berlin on Saturday, pushing for a speedy exit of Britain.

    “This process should start as soon as possible,” said German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier after a meeting with his counterparts from France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The aim must be “not to fall into a prolonged stalemate,” he added.

    French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said British Prime Minister David Cameron initiated this referendum, and “he must now live with the consequences.” With his colleagues, he would send the signal that “Europe is alive,” Ayrault said.

    Cameron announced Friday his intention to step down after his country voted to leave the EU.

    Beyond that, Britain’s European Commissioner Jonathan Hill, responsible for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, also decided to resign from his post, said a press release issued by the European Commission on Saturday. In the meantime, Labour’s opposition leader is urged to go and there is a new call for Scottish independence.

    While the EU pushed Britain for a quick exit, a petition to parliament calling for a second referendum on Britain’s EU membership had gathered more than 2.5 million signatures by midday Saturday.

    The petition demands a change in the law to pave the way for a re-run of Thursday’s national vote. It calls for a majority of 60 percent and a turnout of 75 percent before any change in Britain’s EU membership can take place. The petition was gaining pace at a rate of thousands of signatures every hour.

    The petition was started by British citizen William Oliver Healey, and reads: “We the undersigned call upon HM Government to implement a rule that if the Remain or Leave vote is less than 60 percent based a turnout less than 75 percent, there should be another referendum.”

    It was started by Healey following shockwaves after 17.5 million Britons voted to leave the EU. That represented 51.9 percent of voters, compared to 48.1 percent who opted to remain part of the bloc.

    A second petition, already signed by more than 100,000 people, is calling on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to declare the British capital independent from Britain so that it can apply to join the EU. (Xinhua)

    (Special report on P8, 9)

    LOCAL BRITISH EXPATS’ RESPONSES

    “My father strongly believes in Brexit. His views are based on immigration problems caused by [the] EU’s open borders policy. My uncle supports to remain because he has a lot of trade within the EU,” Nick Thompson said.

    “I think England should remain in the EU. Leaving EU will have a huge impact on Britain economically, socially and politically. For my family, most of them have backed the leave campaign,” Will Stage said. (Zeng Ruijia)