The British High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin, has said\u00a0despite voting to exit the European Union, countries within the union will continue to be their allies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a form of departure from the European Union, the European countries will still be our friends, neighbours and allies and we will negotiate a new arrangement with them,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Jon Benjamin said this in an interview with Citi News<\/strong>\u00a0on the historic referendum held on Thursday in the United Kingdom, which saw over 52% of British people voting to leave the European Union.<\/p>\n [contextly_sidebar id=”uB7dAkKdlCKmxP8RWz7UIk2NYyk6N5AG”]The High Commissioner explained that, though the Brits have made their decision known, the country is yet to trigger the necessary procedures to officially exit the union, stating that it is likely to take close to two years.<\/p>\n The UK Prime Minister has said he will resign<\/strong><\/a><\/span> in September, following the outcome of the voting, saying he\u00a0would attempt to \u201csteady the ship\u201d over the coming weeks and months.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new Prime Minister will then be in charge of the negotiating process with the European Union \u00a0about the terms of the UK\u2019s departure and what the relationship looks like afterwards,\u201d Jon Benjamin added.<\/p>\n Brexit decision regrettable – EU<\/strong><\/p>\n Meanwhile the EU in a statement expressed shock<\/strong><\/a><\/span> at the UK\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a free and democratic process, the British people have expressed their wish to leave the European Union. We regret this decision but respect it,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n The leadership of the Union however in the statement urged the UK to trigger the necessary procedures in negotiating their exit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now expect the United Kingdom government to give effect to this decision of the British people as soon as possible, however painful that process may be. Any delay would unnecessarily prolong uncertainty. We have rules to deal with this in an orderly way\u2026.We stand ready to launch negotiations swiftly with the United Kingdom regarding the terms and conditions of its withdrawal from the European Union. Until this process of negotiations is over, the United Kingdom remains a member of the European Union, with all the rights and obligations that derive from this. According to the Treaties which the United Kingdom has ratified, EU law continues to apply to the full to and in the United Kingdom until it is no longer a Member,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n By: Godwin A. Allotey\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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