Italy's Renzi to resign after referendum rout

"Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is set to resign on Monday after suffering a crushing defeat in a referendum over constitutional reform, tipping the euro zone's third-largest economy into political turmoil.

His decision to quit after just two-and-a-half years in office deals a blow to the European Union, already reeling from multiple crises and struggling to overcome anti-establishment forces that have battered the Western world this year. (...)

Sunday's referendum was over government plans to reduce the powers of the upper house Senate and regional authorities but was viewed by many people as a chance to register dissatisfaction with Renzi, who has struggled to revive economic growth , and mainstream politics.

"No" won an overwhelming 59.1 percent of the vote, according to the final count. About 33 million Italians, or two-thirds of eligible voters, cast ballots following months of bitter campaigning that pitted Renzi against all major opposition parties, including the anti-establishment 5-Star.

(...)"

Reuters

Ennyien költöztek Európába tavaly

"Tartózkodási engedélyt több ok miatt is kérhet valaki, ám az elmúlt években a legtöbb kérelem a család, a tanulmányok és a munkavégzés miatt érkezett az EU-hoz. Nem változott ez nagyon az Eurostat friss adatai szerint tavaly sem: a 2015-ben 2,6 millió első alkalommal kiadott engedély 29 százaléka családi okok miatt kapott zöld utat, 27 százalék új munkahely, míg 20 százalék az oktatás miatt. A maradék 24 százalékba sok minden beletartozik, így többek közt a nemzetközi védelem is, azaz ha valaki azért menekült el hazájából, mert veszélyben érezte magát.

Az uniós statisztikai hivatal adatai szerint a tavaly kiadott engedélyek száma 12,1 százalékkal magasabb az előző évinél, az újonnan érkezettek pedig leginkább az Egyesült Királyságba mentek. Ez mintegy 633 ezer embert jelent, de nincs sokkal lemaradva Lengyelország (542 ezer) és Franciaország (227 ezer) sem. Érdekesség, hogy a lista első hat helyezettje (az előbbieken túl Németország, Spanyolország és Olaszország) az összes tavaly kiadott engedély háromnegyedét hozta össze.

Teljesen más sorrendet kapunk, ha az adott ország lakosságához viszonyítjuk a kiadott dokumentumok számát. Eszerint Málta a listaelső, hiszen ott ezer lakosra 23,1 új, első alkalommal kiadott letelepedési engedélyt számolt az Eurostat. Ciprus a következő a sorban 18,4-es értékkel, majd Lengyelország (14,3), Svédország (11,3) és az Egyesült Királyság (9,7) érkezik. Az uniós átlag egyébként 5,1, ennél jóval alacsonyabb a magyar, amely a 2 pontot sem éri el. Hazánknál egyébként csak Litvániában, Szlovákiában, Bulgáriában, Horvátországban és Romániában mért alacsonyabb számot az uniós statisztikai hivatal.

Bár elsőre annak tűnhet, a lengyelek előkelő helyezése nem annyira meglepő: a legtöbb igény, közel 500 ezer ugyanis Ukrajnából érkezik. Ők pedig leginkább munka miatt akarnak letelepedési engedélyt kérni, sokuk pedig a közeli Lengyelországban képzeli ideiglenes (?) jövőjét. A második legtöbb befogadott kérelem az USA-ból jött, majd Kína, India, Szíria a további sorrend, de még Brazíliából is közel 60 ezer ember érkezett 2015-ben az EU-ba.

Az amerikaiak igen nagy többsége, már csak a nyelvi könnyebbségek miatt az Egyesült Királyságot választja célpontjának, de a kínaiak és az indiaiak többségének oda szeretne eljutni. A szírek viszont inkább Svédországot választják, a marokkóiak Spanyolországot, a fehéroroszok szinte kivétel nélkül Lengyelországot, míg az oroszok Csehországot, a brazilok pedig Írországot preferálják. Azon talán senki sem lepődik meg, hogy a törökök többsége Németországot célozza meg.

Az is érdekes végeredményhez vezet, ha azt nézzük, hogy az egyes országokból érkezők miért kaptak az EU-tól letelepedési engedélyt.

Csak Marokkóból 68 ezer fő például családi okok miatt jött az öreg kontinensre, az ukránok közül 376 ezer akar dolgozni, míg az oktatásnál Kína az első 102 ezer engedéllyel.

Ki jön Magyarországra?

Hazánkra vonatkozóan tavaly összesen 20 751 letelepedési engedélyt adtak ki az Eurostat adatai szerint, többségét (5 876) oktatási céllal, de sokan a családot jelölték meg (5 715) okként. Munka miatt ennél jóval kevesebben, mindössze 4 209-en jöttek Magyarországra, míg az egyéb kategória 4 951 embert jelentett.

A legtöbb kérelem, 4 285 Kínából érkezett, amit jelentős lemaradással Ukrajna (1 686) követett. A top5-be még az USA (1 679), Oroszország (1 321) és Törökország (988) fért fel, ez az öt ország adta az összes kérelem 52 százalékát."

Napi.hu

Moldova elects pro-Russian Igor Dodon as president

Igor Dodon, the pro-Russian leader of the Party of Socialists, on Sunday became Moldova’s first directly elected president in more than two decades. Dodon won almost 55 percent of votes cast, defeating pro-EU candidate Maia Sandu, who was backed by the European People’s Party. Just over half of eligible Moldovans turned out to polling stations.

(...)

Politico

Bulgaria’s PM quits after pro-Russian candidate wins presidency

Bulgaria looks set to veer sharply back into Moscow’s strategic orbit after Socialist candidate Rumen Radev won the presidency in a landslide on Sunday, forcing the resignation of center-right Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

According to exit polls after the runoff, Radev won almost 60 percent of the vote. Tsetska Tsacheva, from Borisov’s GERB party, took just over 35 percent.

The result has plunged the impoverished Balkan state into a political crisis that will be closely monitored by the rest of the EU and NATO. The country of 7 million people occupies a sensitive position within the EU because Russia’s influence is unusually strong, due in part to a complex web of commercial ties in the military, financial and energy sectors.

Borisov, a former firefighter and bodyguard, has promised to resign at the next sitting of parliament, probably on Monday or Tuesday. The prime minister congratulated Radev and admitted that his GERB party was now “in opposition to the will of the people.”

The most likely immediate course is for the current President Rosen Plevneliev to appoint cabinet ministers in a caretaker administration, before parliamentary elections early next year. In the meantime, the Socialists will need to try to work with a hotch-potch of parties on the far right, center and with the ethnic Turkish party, to exercise parliamentary influence.

“Bulgaria won. The people overcame apathy, and they overcame fear — that’s the most important thing,” Radev, 53-year-old former air force general, told reporters after his victory. “Despite bluffing by the government about the apocalypse, you voted for change.”

Radev, who gives daredevil airshows in a MiG-29 fighter jet, has given every sign during the election that he will seek to repair damaged ties with the Kremlin, saying that Bulgaria should never allow Russia to be styled as an enemy, and calling for an end to EU sanctions.

He has also taken a robust line on immigration, promising that he will prevent Bulgaria from becoming a “migrant ghetto.”

GERB had become an obvious target for public frustration over corruption. Although Borisov styled himself as a strongman willing to clean up Bulgaria, voters have largely been frustrated by GERB’s inability to reform the judiciary or escape the tentacles of oligarchs.

NATO officials are concerned about the presence of such an openly pro-Russian figure in the presidency and noted that cooperation with Bulgaria could be under strain.

Wasting no time in leaping to the defense of the Kremlin, Radev repeated his call for an end to sanctions immediately after his victory. He also expressed optimism that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could chart a more positive geostrategic course.

“That gives us hope of reducing conflict in hotspots,” he said.

Politico

Mariano Rajoy, back to the old routine

"The Spanish PM puts the economy, Catalonia and Brexit on the agenda.

After 10 months of political deadlock in Spain, two inconclusive elections, two failed investiture votes in Congress and a putsch that brought down the leader of the main opposition party, Mariano Rajoy on Sunday finally secured a second term as prime minister.

The Federal Committee of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) decided to back a new conservative government to avoid a third election in the country in just over a year. In a historic vote, the about 250-member body approved the motion to lift the block on the second Rajoy-led Conservative government by 139 to 96 votes.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy stayed true to form and played it safe when he named his cabinet on Thursday evening, picking trusted allies for top jobs and putting three topics at the top of his agenda: the continuation of his economic policies, standing up to the Catalan secessionist challenge, and making sure Spain plays its part in the Brexit negotiations."

More on Politico

Trudeau finally signs CETA free trade deal with European Union

"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revelled in a long-awaited moment Sunday — signing Canada’s free trade deal with the European Union, but not before recognizing the challenges ahead to bring it fully into force.

Trudeau expressed hope that the so-called provisional application of the deal — approval only by the Canadian and European parliaments but not Europe’s 28 states and myriad regional governments — might happen within months.

That, said Trudeau, would result in 98 per cent of the deal coming into force. That’s much higher than the 90-per cent estimate that most European and Canadian officials have said would accompany provisional application of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, known as CETA.

Trudeau had initially expected to sign the deal in Brussels days ago, but the restive Belgian region of Wallonia nearly killed it because its opposition to the pact’s investor-state dispute settlement mechanism gave it a veto under Belgium’s complicated constitution.

After seven arduous years of negotiation, Trudeau joined presidents of the European Council and European Commission, Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, and signed the massive 1,600-page pact and its accompanying strategic partnership agreement.

The road to full ratification remains long. After Trudeau and his EU counterparts took a moment Sunday to revel in the milestone, the prime minister was willing to acknowledge it would take more than ceremony to fully ratify the deal. “The work is only just beginning right now,” Trudeau said.

(...)

But opposition among anti-trade activists and left-wing political parties in some European countries has been fierce and nearly blocked the deal. On a sleepy Sunday morning in the largely shuttered EU capital, Trudeau’s entourage was greeted by a small but vocal group of protesters at the European Council.

Trudeau acknowledged the discontent but said political leaders had to work to overcome it.

“That leadership that we were able to show between Canada and Europe is not just something that will reassure our own citizens but should be an example to the world of how we can move forward on trade deals that do genuinely benefit everyone,” Trudeau said. With the Liberals and Conservatives both favouring the deal, its approval will sail through Parliament.

But Europe is another matter. The European Parliament must approve CETA. Before leaving Brussels, Trudeau met with its leader, Martin Schulz, the German social democrat."

National Post

Germany's Oettinger to take over EU Commission budget post

"German Günther Oettinger is to replace Kristalina Georgieva as the European Commission's budget commissioner. Bulgaria's Georgieva resigned on Friday and will move to become CEO of the World Bank."

Deutsche Welle

Sakharov Prize To Yazidi Women

"The European Parliament has awarded its Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought and expression to Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar, two women from Iraq's Yazidi community who suffered attack and persecution by ISIS.
Murad and Bashar were among thousands of women and girls abducted and held as sexual slaves by ISIS fighters after they rounded up Yazidis in their village of Kocho, near Sinjar in northwest Iraq, in the summer of 2014.
Murad has also called for the recognition of the massacre of Yazidis as genocide."

(...)

NDTV

Lithuania’s agrarians pull off surprise election win

Lithuania’s center-right opposition Peasants and Greens party said it would begin negotiations to form a coalition government on Monday after it declared victory in the second round of the country’s general election on Sunday.

The Peasants and Greens won 54 seats in the 141-member parliament. The conservative Homeland Union came in second with 31 seats, the ruling Social Democratic party won 17 seats, AFP reported. Turnout was 38 percent.

“Our government will be transparent, responsible, professional and resolute,” said Saulius Skvernelis, the party’s candidate to be the next prime minister, according to Reuters.

The party had already emerged as the biggest in some constituencies in the first round of the vote, held on October 9.

If Skvernelis becomes prime minister, it will mean that for the first time in 15 years, the country’s leader will not be a member of the Social Democrats or the Homeland Union.

A new government is expected to take over from the current coalition of the Social Democrats, Labour and Order and Justice parties before the end of 2016.

Politico.eu

Turkey coup attempt 2016

Bridges over the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul were blocked by troops late evening local time on Friday 15. July. "Fighter jets and helicopters were seen flying over the Turkish capital, Ankara, and gunshots heard. Soon after, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced that an attempt to overthrow the government was under way. A faction of the army then said, via a state broadcaster, that it had seized power to protect democracy from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A curfew, martial law and the preparation of a new constitution was announced. Mr Erdogan, who was on holiday in a seaside resort town, called on his supporters to take to the streets in protest and returned to Istanbul. Over the course of a violent night, TV stations were raided by soldiers, explosions heard in Istanbul and Ankara, protesters shot at, the parliament and presidential buildings fired upon, a military helicopter shot down and the Turkish military chief taken hostage.

For the plot to succeed, the army faction needed public support or wider military backing. Neither materialised. Opposition parties also condemned the coup. In the early hours of Saturday morning, groups of soldiers involved began to surrender. Troops abandoned their tanks with their hands up.

Security forces also took back key installations and bases, including the military headquarters. By Saturday evening, some of the same places that had seen such chaos the night before were filled with jubilant supporters of Mr Erdogan."

BBC webpage

EU orders Apple to pay up to €13 billion in taxes

The European Commission has ordered Ireland to claw back up to €13 billion (£11.1 billion; $14.5 billion) in back taxes from Apple.
The European Union has never ordered a company to pay this much before, with Tuesday's decision smashing the €1.4 billion (£1.2 billion; $1.6 billion) levied against the French energy giant EDF in 2015.
Margrethe Vestager, the EU's competition commissioner, announced the figure at a European Commission press conference.
"Member states cannot give tax benefits to selected companies — this is illegal under EU state aid rules," Vestager said in a press release ahead of her speech. "The commission's investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years. In fact, this selective treatment allowed Apple to pay an effective corporate tax rate of 1% on its European profits in 2003 down to 0.005 per cent in 2014."
Apple said the decision would affect how much it invests in Europe and how many people it employs in the region.
An Apple representative said: "The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple's history in Europe, ignore Ireland's tax laws, and upend the international tax system in the process. The commission's case is not about how much Apple pays in taxes — it's about which government collects the money. It will have a profound and harmful effect on investment and job creation in Europe."Apple follows the law and pays all of the taxes we owe wherever we operate. We will appeal, and we are confident the decision will be overturned."
Ireland's finance minister, Michael Noonan, said in a statement: "I disagree profoundly with the commission's decision." He added: "The decision leaves me with no choice but to seek Cabinet approval to appeal the decision before the European courts."
(...)
businessinsider.com/

EU leaders want their own army, but can't agree on much else

"As the other 27 European Union members wake up from its long August holidays, thoughts are turning to what will be a critical quarter for the bloc as it makes preparations for divorce talks with Britain and a future without the world’s fifth-largest economy.
That began in earnest this week with the summit of the ‘big three’ post-Brexit EU economies – France, Germany and Italy – that kicks off a whirlwind of intra-EU diplomacy leading up an informal meeting of the “EU27” in Bratislava on September 16.
Here are five things we learned from the Hollande-Renzi-Merkel show:
1)"Brexit won’t break us…"
Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they? But even so, there was a distinct note of defiance yesterday as Matteo Renzi, the Italian Prime minister, said that many people had felt that “after Brexit Europe would come to an end”, but that “this was not the case”. In truth, it will be a decade or more before anyone really knows whether Brexit heralded the beginning of the end for the EU or – as Mr Renzi promised – the start of a brave new European future unshackled from Britain, that most reluctant of EU members. For core Europe, nothing less than survival is at stake.
2)"But we admit there are some problems that need fixing…"
Whatever the brave rhetoric, the reality is that – as Francois Hollande, the French president noted - the forces of “fragmentation” are rising in Europe and (as he didn’t say) Britain’s vote for Brexit is adding a significant load to those centrifugal political forces.
The sharp rise in terrorism, the failure to protect external EU borders and the current failure of the European project to deliver sufficient jobs and prosperity to the coming generation are the daunting challenges that face Europe’s leaders – as well as those in Britain.
The decisions taken in Europe over the next year or two will determine whether those challenges will be better met inside the EU or, as Britain has decided, out of it.
3)"So we’re going to raise an EU army…"
Not as a cure for southern Europe’s chronic youth unemployment problem, but as a token of what Mr Renzi called a new future of deeper European co-operation, and a statement that Europe was prepared to take its place in the world.
Britain has always blocked plans for a so-called ‘EU Army’, arguing that it would undermine Nato as the cornerstone of European defence and (we don’t say out loud) our influence in Washington and at the Nato conference table.
But with Britain ‘out’, Europe is now determined to open this new strategic front. Like the decision to stage the press conference on the Italian aircraft carrier Garibaldi, anchored as it was near the grave site of Altiero Spinelli, one of the intellectual fathers of European federalism, the symbolism was deliberate. Importantly, the German chancellor Angela Merkel, whose government published a white paper advocating new pan-European military command structures after Brexit, has agreed that Europe must do “more for our internal and external security”.
4) "But that’s because we can’t agree on much else…"
 The focus on promises for a more unified defence apparatus belie the reality of the European project’s current predicament – that on the really existential economic questions surrounding the economy and the Eurozone, there is no political agreement.
The French want deeper economic integration for the Eurozone, the Italians want permission to tax and spend but the in Germany – where there are massive surpluses – there is absolutely no political will to pay for either of these demands.
As Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia group, says, Mrs Merkel “will only pay lip service” to Franco-Italian pleas to end German austerity-economics – meaning that far more important than what was addressed at this summit, was what was left unsaid.
5) But that doesn’t mean Britain will get an easy ride
While Europe clearly has its problems, the tone of this meeting will have served as a quiet warning to those who believe that Europe will cut Britain a sweetheart deal when the talks finally begin.
No-one was expecting any concrete detail on Brexit talks, since Britain has not yet indicated which of the myriad possible relationships with Europe – Norway, Swiss, Canada, WTO or bespoke – it will press for when it invokes Article 50.
But while the tone was respectful, it was also rather coldly clear – the European Union is fighting for its political survival and it will cling to its core ideals to protect itself."
Telegraph

Austria Will Veto Turkey’s Bid to Join European Union

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz will block any effort to advance negotiations necessary for Turkey to join the European Union, he told Austrian newspaper Kurier in an interview over the weekend.
The move comes after Chancellor Christian Kern called for ending Turkey’s accession talks last week. Kurz said that Turkey is “moving away from Europe” and that “what happens there isn’t compatible with European fundamental values.”
“I have a seat and vote in the council of foreign ministers, which decides unanimously whether new negotiating chapters with Turkey are opened,” Kurz told Kurier. “And I’m against that.”
Talks about Turkey’s EU accession are split into 35 chapters, of which 15 have been opened and one provisionally closed, according to the EU. The latest chapter, which would govern Turkey’s payments to and receipts from the EU budget, was opened June 30.
Bloomberg

Euro zone economic growth slows in second quarter

Economic growth in the euro zone slowed in the second quarter as uncertainty before the British vote to leave the European Union swirled, data showed on Friday, and economists said it could be a sign of future weaker growth.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the April-June period, halving from the 0.6 percent growth in the first quarter of the year, European statistics office Eurostat said.

(...)

First estimates on euro zone inflation released on Friday by Eurostat showed a slight rise to 0.2 percent in July from 0.1 percent the previous month, but still far away from the ECB target of a rate close to 2 percent, while core inflation remained stable.

DNAI

Malta with fourth largest population surge in European Union in 2015

On 1 January 2016, the population of the European Union (EU) was estimated at 510.1 million, compared with 508.3 million on 1 January 2015. During the year 2015, almost 5.1 million babies were born in the EU, while more than 5.2 million persons died, meaning that the EU recorded for the first time ever a negative natural change of its population. The remainder of the change (positive) is driven mainly by net migration.

Malta registered the fourth largest population increase in 2015.

The most populated EU Member States continue to be Germany (82.2 million residents), France (66.7 million), the United Kingdom (65.3 million) and Italy (60.7 million). Together, they are home to more than half of the EU population, Eurostat said.
During 2015, the population increased in seventeen EU Member States and decreased in eleven.

The largest increase was observed in Luxembourg (+23.3 per 1,000 residents), ahead of Austria (+14.4‰), Germany (+11.8‰), Malta (+11.7‰), Sweden (+10.6‰), Denmark (+8.4‰) and Belgium (+7.2‰).

In contrast, the largest decreases were recorded in Lithuania (-11.3‰), Latvia (-8.7‰) and Croatia (-8.2‰), followed by Bulgaria (-6.7‰), Greece (-6.0‰), and Romania (-5.6‰).

In total, the population of the EU increased by almost 2 million people (+3.5‰) during the year 2015.
Accounting for 16.1% of the total EU population at 1 January 2016, Germany continues to be the most populated Member State, ahead of France (13.1%), the United Kingdom (12.8%), Italy (11.9%), Spain (9.1%) and Poland (7.4%). For the remaining Member States, nine have a share of between 4% and 1.5% of the EU population and eleven a share below 1.5%.
During the year 2015, nearly 5.1 million babies were born in the EU, 40 000 fewer than the previous year. Across Member States, the highest crude birth rates in 2015 were recorded in Ireland (14.2 per 1 000 residents), France (12.0‰), the United Kingdom (11.9‰) and Sweden (11.7‰), while the lowest were registered in Italy (8.0‰), Portugal (8.3‰) and Greece (8.5‰). At EU level, the crude birth rate was 10.0 per 1 000 residents.

There were slightly over 5.2 million deaths registered in the EU in 2015, 286 000 more than the previous year. Bulgaria (15.3 per 1 000 residents) had in 2015 the highest crude death rate, followed by Latvia and Lithuania (both 14.4‰), Hungary (13.4‰) Romania (13.2‰) and Croatia (12.9‰). At the opposite end of the scale, Ireland (6.4‰), Cyprus (6.9‰) and Luxembourg (7.0‰) recorded the lowest. The crude death rate was 10.3 per 1 000 residents in the EU.

Consequently, Ireland (with a natural change of its population of +7.7‰) was in 2015 the Member State where births most outnumbered deaths, ahead of Cyprus (+3.9‰), Luxembourg (+3.7‰), France (+3.0‰), the United Kingdom (+2.7‰) and Sweden (+2.4‰). In contrast, among the thirteen EU Member States which registered a negative natural change in 2015, deaths outnumbered births the most in Bulgaria (-6.2‰), Croatia and Hungary (both -4.0‰), Romania (-3.8‰), Lithuania (-3.5‰) and Latvia (-3.3‰).
MaltaIndependent

Election in Spain Gives Conservatives More Seats but No Mandate

"The conservative Popular Party of Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s caretaker prime minister, won the most votes in Spain’s repeat national elections on Sunday, as the Socialists held off a challenge from the Podemos Party to remain the largest left-wing formation.
The fragmented result, however, did not settle who will form the country’s next government. Instead, Mr. Rajoy and the leaders of Spain’s other parties face another tricky round of coalition negotiations. National elections in December were also inconclusive.
With 99.8 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Rajoy’s Popular Party had won 137 of 350 parliamentary seats, up from 123 seats in the December elections. The Socialists captured 85 seats, five fewer than in December.
Podemos won 71 seats, effectively unchanged from December, after forming an election alliance with United Left, another radical party, which won two seats six months ago.
Another emerging party, Ciudadanos, got 32 seats, down from 40 seats, according to the preliminary results.
No party came close to winning a parliamentary majority on Sunday. Still, the results put Mr. Rajoy back in the driver’s seat, either to try to form a right-wing coalition or to pressure the Socialists into a broader coalition that could help preserve the dominance of Spain’s establishment parties, which Podemos would like to uproot."
(...)
NYT

Britain votes to leave the EU

A referendum - a vote in which everyone (or nearly everyone) of voting age can take part - was held on Thursday 23 June, to decide whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union.

Leave won by 52% to 48%.

The referendum turnout was 71.8%, with more than 30 million people voting. It was the highest turnout in a UK-wide vote since the 1992 general election.

England voted strongly for Brexit, by 53.4% to 46.6%, as did Wales, with Leave getting 52.5% of the vote and Remain 47.5%.

Scotland and Northern Ireland both backed staying in the EU. Scotland backed Remain by 62% to 38%, while 55.8% in Northern Ireland voted Remain and 44.2% Leave.

For the UK to leave the EU it has to invoke an agreement called Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

Cameron or his successor needs to decide when to invoke this - that will then set in motion the formal legal process of withdrawing from the EU, and give the UK two years to negotiate its withdrawal.

---

David Cameron's resignation 

Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will step down after the UK voted to Leave the European Union.

Speaking in Downing Street, he did not set out a precise timetable for his departure but said "we should aim to have a new prime minister in place by the start of the Conservative party conference in October".

---

Ratings agencies downgrade UK credit rating after Brexit vote

The UK has lost its top AAA credit rating from ratings agency S&P following the country's Brexit vote.

S&P said the the referendum result could lead to "a deterioration of the UK's economic performance, including its large financial services sector".

Rival agency Fitch lowered its rating from AA+ to AA, forecasting an "abrupt slowdown" in growth in the short-term.

Serbia's Pro-EU Populists Win Vote

"The incumbent pro-European Union populists swept Serbia's parliamentary election in a landslide Sunday, leaving pro-Russia nationalists far behind, according to preliminary unofficial results. The triumph by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic's Progressive Party means Serbia will continue on its path toward EU membership despite opposition from right-wing parties, which seek close ties with traditional Slavic ally Russia instead.(...)

The preliminary results released by the independent CESiD polling agency show the Progressives winning 49 percent of the vote and their Socialists coalition partner with 11 percent. Two ultra-nationalist parties lagged far behind — the Radical Party with 8 percent and DSS-Dveri with 5 percent. Three pro-Western opposition parties fragmented their support and were each hovering around the 5 percent threshold needed to win seats in parliament. (...)

Vucic called the election two years early, saying he needed a new mandate to press ahead with tough reforms demanded by the EU at a time Serbia is facing deep economic and social problems. But his opponents said he really wanted to tighten his autocratic rule and win another four-year mandate while he is still popular. (...)"

ABC

These are the five biggest risks...

These Are the 5 Biggest Risks That Could Break Up the European Union:
1) Italy’s banking crisis
2) Unmanagable Greece
3) The end of Schengen
4) Turkey as an EU member
5) Brexit
Link