Spotlight: EU leaders urge Britain to exit swiftly

European leaders have urged Britain to act quickly to resolve the political and economic chaos and speed up the Brexit process during a European Union (EU) summit here held for the first time since Britons voted to leave the EU.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a press conference mid-night the British should trigger the article 50 "as soon as possible."

"I hope the notification by the next British government will arrive as soon as possible. We want the article 50 to be triggered as soon as possible that is what the three Presidents want," Juncker said.

"It has to be speed up. We don't have months to meditate. We have to act," he added.

European Council President Donald Tusk, during the same conference, said he expected the intentions of the British government to be specified as soon as possible.

"Respecting the will of the British people, we all recognized that a process of orderly exit was in everyone's, and especially, in the UK's interest," said Tusk.

"Leaders understand that some time is now needed to allow the dust to settle in the UK. But they also expect the intentions of the UK government to be specified as soon as possible," he underlined. "This was a very clear message which I believe Prime Minister Cameron will take back to London," he added.

In a separate press conference, British Prime Minister Cameron outlined the results of the referendum Thursday last week and underlined the divorce talks will not only be triggered by his successor.

Britain will discuss with the EU and examine all the ways following the historic referendum but the incumbent British government will not initiate Britain's exit procedure, Cameron told the press.

London and Brussels will negotiate on how to deal with the vote and the decision to trigger a British exit may only be made by "next cabinet" and "next prime minister," he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a national press conference at the end of the first day of the EU summit that she believed the British decision to leave the EU can't be reversed.

"I want to say very clearly tonight that I see no way to reverse the decision. We would do well to accept this reality," Merkel said, when asked about the the possibility of a British U-turn on Brexit.

She added that this is not a time for "wishful thinking", but to see things as they are.

During the first day of the summit, European leaders also considered the post-Brexit economic situation in the presence of the European Central Bank president, who reassured about the good and constant cooperation of central banks.

"However, it was also made clear that Brexit means substantially lower growth in the UK, with a possible negative spillover all over the world," said Tusk.

Juncker also told reporters that the European Commission will do everything to prevent "bank run."

"The banking sector in Italy and elsewhere in Europe will be protected in the best way as possible," said Juncker.

In addition to the fallout of the referendum, European leaders also discussed and took important decisions on the single market, the digital market, the capital markets union, on stemming irregular migration and on closer cooperation with NATO.

"We agreed to step up work with African countries on returns of irregular migrants, and on measures that would stabilize the situation in Libya," said Tusk.

He said EU-NATO co-operation was discussed in the presence of NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the Warsaw Summit, with participants pledging to enhance EU-NATO ties given unprecedented challenges from the South and East.

"We decided on steps to deepen the Single Market further, especially when it comes to the digital market. We will also continue to develop the capital markets union despite the recent turmoil," Tusk added. Endit