星期二对英国来说又是一个难过的日子。卡梅隆首相在布鲁塞尔会见欧盟领导人。这是英国选民决定脱离欧洲以来的首次见面。
卡梅隆可能会面临一些有关英国准备究竟何时、如何开始脱离欧盟程序的严峻问题。
欧盟委员会主席容克星期二在欧盟议会紧急会议上说：“我要求英国澄清它的立场。不是今天，也不是明天上午九点，而是很快。”
但是英国领导人看来并不急于马上就开始脱离程序。卡梅隆已经说过公投以后他将辞职。他明确表示，将是他的继任者，而不是他本人，按照里斯本协定的第五十条款的规定启动英国与欧盟的脱离程序。
这样的话，启动程序最早也要到九月份才会开始。
但是法国和其他欧盟成员国担心，英国等待的时间越长，经济所受到的伤害就越重。英国脱欧的公投结果已经给全球股市带来了震荡。容克星期二说，“我们不能让自己一直身陷长期的不确定之中。”
脱离运动领导人要求英国仍然像非欧盟成员挪威一样享有与欧盟国家的免关税贸易待遇。
欧盟的一些议员对英国的要求感到不满，其中就包括德国总理默克尔。
默克尔警告英国不要挑三拣四。她说，“如果你要退出，离开这个家，那么你就不能期望只放弃责任，同时还照样享受特权。”
美国总统奥巴马表示，他并不预期英国要离开欧盟的决定会产生“重大的巨变。”
奥巴马说，英国脱欧公投对欧洲的整合只是“一个暂停的动作”，有关国家要“喘口气”，想想如何保持自己国家的个体性，如何保存整合的好处，如何应对选民的烦恼。
Tuesday was another awkward day for Britain as Prime Minister David Cameron met with European Union leaders in Brussels for the first time since British voters chose to quit the EU.
Cameron was expected to face tough questions on exactly when and how Britain plans to start divorce proceedings.
"I want the U.K. to clarify its position. Not today, not tomorrow at 9 a.m., but soon," EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told an EU parliament emergency meeting Tuesday.
But British leaders appear to be in no hurry to start the process. Cameron, who has already said he will resign because of the Brexit vote, has made it clear it will be his successor, not he, who will initiate the disengagement by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty on a negotiated departure.
That may not happen until September at the earliest.
But France and other EU members fear the longer Britain waits, the more economic damage could occur. Brexit has already shaken markets around the world, and Juncker said Tuesday, "We cannot allow ourselves to remain in a prolonged period of uncertainty."
Leaders of the leave movement are demanding Britain still get tariff-free trade with the rest of the EU, just like Norway, a non-EU member, enjoys.
Some EU lawmakers are upset by the British demand, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
She warns Britain against what she calls cherry picking, saying, "If you want to exit and leave this family, then you cannot expect to drop obligations and have privileges continue."
U.S. President Barack Obama says he does not anticipate "major cataclysmic changes" coming out of Britain's decision to leave the EU.
He said the Brexit vote is a "pause button" for European integration as countries "take a breath" to think about how to keep their national identities, preserve the benefits of integration, and deal with voter frustrations.
