Speaking after a meeting with French President François Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Berlin yesterday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, “We are in agreement that Article 50 of the European Treaties is very clear. A member state that wishes to leave the EU has to notify the European Council [of its decision]. There can’t be any further steps until that has happened. Only then will the European Council issue guidelines under which an exit will be negotiated.” She went on, “That means that, and we agree on this point, there will be neither informal nor formal talks on a British exit until the European Council has received the [UK’s] request for an exit from the EU.”

Merkel also told the Bundestag this morning that the UK cannot “cherry-pick” the terms of its new relationship with the EU after Brexit, stressing that the EU’s ‘four freedoms’ – free movement of goods, services, people and capital – cannot be split up.

EU heads of state and government will meet in Brussels for a European Council summit today and tomorrow.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will not trigger the Article 50 exit procedure.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said this morning, “We want more clarity from Cameron on the Brexit timetable.”

However, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte – whose country currently holds the rotating EU Presidency – has warned that it would be “unwise” to push the UK into triggering Article 50.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told MEPs this morning, “We need to clarify the situation as quickly as possible. We cannot allow a long period of uncertainty. There can be no secret negotiations. No notification [to the European Council], no negotiation.” He added, “I’m a European and I have a right to say I regret the result of the British vote.”

German Europe Minister Michael Roth, of the centre-left SPD, told Italian daily La Repubblica, “We are not dealing with a consensual divorce. Article 50 is clear: if no agreement is found within two years, the UK has to leave [the EU] anyway. No one wants this. Everyone wants an orderly process.” He added, “There won’t be [EU] Treaty changes in the near future. There are big concerns over other referenda. But there’s room to move forward within the existing Treaties too.”

Meanwhile, following a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned the EU against “half-cocked, scatter-brained or revengeful” responses in exit talks with the UK.