On Thursday 23 June 2016 the EU referendum took place and the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.
This page contains government information on the EU referendum. No material was published on this page between 27 May and 23 June 2016, in line with the restrictions set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000.
Prime Minister David Cameron gave a statement in the House of Commons on yesterday’s European Council.
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on yesterday’s European Council.
This was the first Council since Britain decided to leave the European Union.The decision was accepted and we began constructive discussions about how to ensure a strong relationship between Britain and the countries of the EU.
But before the discussion on Britain, there were a number of other items on the agenda. Let me touch on them briefly.
On migration, the Council noted the very significant reductions in illegal crossings from Turkey to Greece as a result of the agreement made with Turkey in March. But it expressed continued concern over the central Mediterranean route and a determination to do all we can to combat people smuggling via Libya.
Britain continues to play a leading role in Operation Sophia with HMS Enterprise. And I can tell the House today that Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay will also be deployed to stop the flow of weapons to terrorists, particularly Daesh, in Libya.
On NATO, Secretary General Stoltenberg gave a presentation ahead of the Warsaw summit and the Council agreed the need for NATO and the EU to work together in a complementary way to strengthen our security.
On completing the single market, there were important commitments on the digital single market, including that EU residents will be able to travel with the digital content they have purchased or subscribed to at home.
And on the economic situation, the President of the European Central Bank (
ECB) gave a presentation in the light of the outcome of our referendum.
Private sector forecasts discussed at the Council included estimates of a reduction in eurozone growth potentially between 0.3% and 0.5% over the next 3 years. One of the main explanations for this is the predicted slowdown in the UK economy, given our trade with the euro area.
President Draghi reassured the Council that the ECB has worked with the Bank of England for many months to prepare for uncertainty, and in the face of continued volatility our institutions will continue to monitor markets and act as necessary.
Mr Speaker, returning to the main discussions around Britain leaving the EU, the tone of the meeting was one of sadness and regret. But there was an agreement that the decision of the British people should be respected.
We had positive discussions about the relationship we want to see between Britain and our European partners, and the next steps on leaving the EU, including some of the issues that need to be worked through and the timing for triggering Article 50
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