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The dominoes are starting to fall in Europe post Brexit

Jun 24, 2016, 10:36 IST

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Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron leaves Downing Street in London, Dec. 2, 2015.Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett

Britain has voted to leave the European Union, and it is leading to an immediate domino effect across Europe as countries decide what to do next.

Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced that Scotland "sees its future as part of the EU," indicating that Scotland may hold another referendum to decide whether to separate from Britain and re-negotiate an entry back into the European Union as an independent country.

Scotland voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining in the EU on Thursday, with 32 out of 32 council areas choosing "Remain" over "Leave."

"Scotland has delivered a strong, unequivocal vote to remain in the EU, and I welcome that endorsement of our European status," Sturgeon said in a statement. "The vote here makes clear that the people of Scotland see their future as part of the European Union."

Sturgeon added: "That reflects the positive campaign the SNP [Scottish National Party] fought, which highlighted the gains and benefits of our EU membership, and people across Scotland have responded to that positive message. ... Scotland has spoken - and spoken decisively."

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Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the Scottish National Party takes part in the BBC Scotland leaders' debate on the first full day of campaigning for the Scottish Parliament elections in Glasgow, ScotlandThomson Reuters

The Irish political party Sinn Fein, meanwhile, called for a referendum on uniting Northern Ireland with the rest of the country as the Brexit results came in.

"English votes have overturned the democratic will of Northern Ireland," Sinn Fein's national chairman, Declan Kearney, said in a statement. 

"This was a cross community vote in favour of remaining in the EU. English voters are dragging Northern Ireland out of the EU. This British Government has forfeited any mandate to represent the economic or political interests of people in Northern Ireland."

Kearney added: "We now have a situation where Brexit has become a further cost of partition, a further cost of the Union and Sinn Fein will now press our demand, our long standing demand, for a border poll."

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In the Netherlands, however, the pendulum swung with Brexit. Geert Wilders, the leader of the far-right Dutch Party for Freedom, called on the country to have its own EU referendum in light of Britain's successful Leave campaign.

"The United Kingdom is leading the way to the future and liberation," Wilders said in a statement less than an hour after Brexit result was declared. "The time is now for a new start, trusting in its own strength and sovereignty. The Dutch population deserves a referendum as well."

He added: "We want to be the boss again over our own country, over our own money, our own borders and our own immigration policy."

The Brexit results - which, as of 4:45 a.m. BST showed that 52% of Brits had voted to leave the European Union - have shocked the world and caused panic in global markets. The pound has nosedived to a 30-year low and could collapse by as much as 15% against the dollar. David Cameron faces an uncertain future as prime minister.

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