Kasım İleri
28 June 2016•Update: 05 July 2016
By Kasim Ileri
WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama on Tuesday cautioned against global financial “hysteria” in the wake of a British vote to leave the European Union.
"There's been a little bit of hysteria post-Brexit vote, as if somehow NATO's gone, the trans-Atlantic alliance is dissolving, and every country is rushing off to its own corner. That's not what's happening," Obama said in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR).
He said that he “would not overstate” the Brexit vote, noting his respect for the voting results.
"I think that the best way to think about this is, a pause button has been pressed on the project of full European integration," he said.
Obama previously said that the British vote "speaks to the ongoing changes and challenges that are raised by globalization", noting his objection to it.
The so-called Brexit was a reaction to an expansion within the EU that was “probably moving faster and without as much consensus as it should have”, Obama told NPR.
"I think this will be a moment when all of Europe says, 'let's take a breath and let's figure out how do we maintain some of our national identities, how do we preserve the benefits of integration, and how do we deal with some of the frustrations that our own voters are feeling,'" he added.
Some believe the U.K.’s decision to leave the 28-nation bloc would trigger the break-up of the EU and weaken the NATO alliance.
