EU question time for David Cameron

European leaders arrive in Brussels demanding answers from the UK prime minister.

European Union leaders — and one soon-to-be-ex-member of the club — met in Brussels Tuesday for what promised to be rollicking, if inconclusive, talks on how to deal with the fallout from Britain’s decision to leave the bloc.

Even before they arrived at the summit table, many of those leaders had already said they would demand clarity from British Prime Minister David Cameron on what move the U.K. government will make next after last week’s historic referendum.

As the meeting began they were still waiting for the U.K. to make a formal request to leave the EU. Until Tuesday’s dinner the only thing Cameron had made clear was that that’s a decision to be left up to his successor, who may not be in place until September.

Cameron vowed to “be as constructive as possible” even as he was giving his country’s unofficial notice it was quitting the EU.

‘Neighbors, friends, allies’

“While we’re leaving the European Union, we mustn’t be turning our backs on Europe,” Cameron told reporters when he arrived for the meeting. “These countries are our neighbors, our friends, our allies, our partners and I very much hope we’ll seek the closest possible relationship in terms of trade and cooperation and security, because that is good for us and that is good for them.”

Some of those neighbors and friends were growing impatient with Cameron, however, making it clear there would be no talk of a close relationship until the divorce process was underway.

One European diplomat said the talks with Cameron over dinner Tuesday were focused on the British prime minister’s “analysis” of the Brexit vote, “full stop.” The real discussion on the EU’s next move, according to the diplomat, would have to wait until a Wednesday morning session to which Cameron was not invited.

A French official said it that “from what Cameron said at the dinner, there is no ambiguity now that the U.K. will leave,” but still maintained that nothing concrete would happen until September.

“The atmosphere at the dinner is serious because it is a historic day,” the official said, “but it is also relaxed.”

Another EU official said Cameron told other leaders he was “sorry” about the referendum result.

Three of Europe’s other major powers — Germany, France and Italy — agreed Monday the EU would not hold any talks with Britain on what its future relationship with the union would be until after the U.K. government formally notified its intention to leave, as outlined under the bloc’s founding treaty.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the U.K. on Tuesday to expect “no special treatment” now that it has decided to leave the European “family.”

“The question of whether a country wants to remain a member of the European Union or not has to make a noticeable difference,” Merkel said in a speech to the German parliament.

“Anyone who wants to leave this family can’t expect to get rid of all obligations while holding onto privileges,” she said, adding: “We will make sure the negotiations aren’t based on the principle of cherry picking.”

The prime minister of Belgium, another founding member of the EU, also demanded answers quickly. “We wish to have some clarity as soon as possible,” said Charles Michel, adding that it was important to send a message to the markets that stability was on the way. He added that it should not be up to Europeans and Belgians to “pay the bills for a British decision.”

Other leaders arriving for the summit weren’t quite so clear, however, indicating there may be some divisions among core Europe countries who want to send a message to Britain and others who want to keep good ties with it.

Keep calm and carry on?

“We can’t stay shocked for too long,” said Taavi Rõivas, the Estonian prime minister, adding he would urge his fellow leaders to “keep calm and carry on” in deciding what to do next.

“Estonia will stay open and constructive,” he said. “Talks shouldn’t be carried in the spirit of revenge. The U.K. is a very important player economically, politically, security-wise.”

The political tensions surrounding the question of how to separate Britain from the EU were already in evidence earlier Tuesday during a European Parliament debate on the issue.

Speaking to a raucous house of MEPs, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker seemed to push aside the question of whether the Brexit vote signaled a crisis for the EU or his own political future as he vowed to fight to his “last breath to get to a united Europe.”

Juncker echoed the comments of other leaders in saying there should be no negotiation with the U.K. until it had made its intentions clear. He said he had forbidden Commission officials from even talking to Brits on the subject.

He also took the opportunity to zing the Parliament’s leading Euroskeptic, Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom Independence Party, telling the architect of the Brexit vote, “That’s the last time you’re applauding here,” and asking, “Why are you here?”

The Parliament eventually adopted a non-binding resolution calling for talks on the U.K.-EU split to begin “as soon as possible.”

But not all EU countries were so anxious to force Britain’s hand. Some, such as Poland, are in less of a hurry than Germany, France and Italy and want to give the U.K. more time to sort out political turmoil that is stirring up both of its major political parties.

The door is still open

The man who will chair the summit, European Council President Donald Tusk, seemed to try to balance the concerns of both sides as he arrived for the meeting Tuesday.

“While respecting the will of the U.K. voters, we also have to respect our treaties,” Tusk said, adding that it was up to the British government to start the divorce proceedings and that the EU was ready to do that “today.” But, he said, “We also have to be patient if there is such a need.”

The meeting was being held on the anniversary of another watershed for Europe, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied powers.

But even given the historical importance of this particular moment for Europe, the summit was shaping up to be yet another gathering of EU leaders in which nothing concrete would be achieved — or at least not much.

While acknowledging that the Brexit issue had hoovered up most of the time originally scheduled for dealing with other crises facing the EU — on migration, security and the economy — Tusk also insisted that the leaders would need to go on with “our regular agenda.”

Talks on those kinds of issues usually fill up a two-day summit on their own. For this meeting, they were compressed into a three-hour, pre-dinner discussion before getting on to the Brexit business. The leaders issued a joint statement after that initial session, saying it was “important to continue working together” on migration and making the traditional promises on creating job growth.

But the real focus was on the dinner discussion.

Tusk said this summit would be only the start of long process. The big questions about how the European Union would move on from this political earthquake — and find “a new impulse for Europe” — would get a start on Wednesday morning after Cameron leaves.

But, Tusk said, the real focus on how the EU can adapt itself and move on would probably have to wait until after summer vacation.

“I will propose an informal leaders meeting in September,” he said, “and maybe the best place will be Bratislava.”

At least one prominent official left open the possibility of a remarriage. Frans Timmermans, Juncker’s number-two at the European Commission, told reporters at a meeting of socialist party politicians before the summit that the U.K. could always come back.

“I believe that we should say Britain is always welcome in the EU,” Timmermans said.

That, of course, will require another summit altogether.

Maïa de la Baume contributed to this article.

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