>> this is dw world news life from berlin. filing for divorce. britain and the european union parting ways. british prime minister david cameron warns the u.k. faces an uncertain future, albeit from a position of strength. he says it britain must not turn its back on europe or the rest of the world. also, across the channel, german chancellor angela merkel says there can be no informal talks about brexit on to london makes the first move. the french president says there is no time to waste.

in soccer, at the euro 2016, italy and spain go down to the wire. both hoping to advance to the quarterfinals and the right to play world champions germany. ♪ brent: it is good to have you with us. on both sides of the english channel tonight, lines are being drawn in what promises to be anything but a simple british divorce from europe. let's start in the u.k. outgoing prime minister david cameron has ordered a working group to begin the compress -- complex process of making an orderly exit from the european union. the work will now start but the next government, the next prime minister -- they will have to finish the jump. reporter: it was an upbeat baby camel who spoke to the british parliament for the first time

since he announced his resignation last week. he told lawmakers his cabinet had agreed that their assault of the eu referendum must be accepted but he would not be pressured by european leaders to trickle -- trigger article 50. >> i have spoken to another -- a number of european leaders. we have discussed the need to prepare for negotiations and in particular the fact that the british government will not be triggering article 50. we need to determine the kind of relationship we want with you. that is rightly something -- elation chip with the eu. -- relationship with the eu. reporter: the opposition is facing open revolt from within. they are calling for a new leader. he incurred -- he encouraged his party to stick with him to give the british people stability. >> our country is divided and

the country will thank neither those in front of me or behind for indulging in maneuvering at this time. reporter: earlier, the man in charge of britain's economy tried to spread calm and confide nce. >> it will not be plain sailing in the days ahead. but you should not underestimate our resolve. we were prepared for the unexpected and are equipped for whatever happens. and we are determined that unlike the years ago, britain's financial system will help our country do with any shocks and dampen them, not contribute to those shocks or make them worse. reporter: the lead brexit supporter also tried to quiet troubled waters. >> there is not going to be an

emergency budget, tensions are safe, the markets have stable. it is all very good news. reporter: yet the london stock market took a beating and the pound dropped to a 31 year low against the dollar. brent: let's go to our correspondent in london. she has been following this story since the very beginning. good evening to you. david cameron saying the referendum has to be accepted and that the timing has to follow a british schedule. how do you read that? is he trying to play for more time here? >> definitely. the british government is playing for time because it is not repaired. what george osborne said is more or less wishful thinking. there is no brexit plan ready to go in the bridge government,

neither in the drawers of the leave camp. they were more surprised by their win on thursday than anybody else. however, david cameron tries now to at least sort of lead the way, set a timeline and move things along. his successor will then have the task to implement this thankless task. he says there will we a new -- there will be a new prime minister by september. he will then have to continue the work and set the date. on the other hand that is the technique of the british side. on the other hand we have the political side. there is considerable pressure from europe. when angela talks about we should give them a considerable amount of time can i ask, what is reasonable? brent: it is a very good question.

the issue of playing for more time, it fits into what we saw cameron doing today. trying to calm the fears of what is going to happen. let's listen to a little of what he had to say today. >> we can reassure european citizens that are here and brits living in european countries there'll be no immediate changes in their circumstances. neither will there be any change in the way people can travel, the way our goods can move or the way our services can be sold. brent: i have to ask you, you have covered this you know this story inside and out. do you believe the prime minister? can people be reassured by his words? barbara: i would rather think not because how can people believe the man who is now bowing out from office, leaving this mess to his successor, the mess that he himself created in: this referendum and then losing

it? and not believing he could lose it until the end, not doing enough to prevent that. on the other hand, who are they going to believe? the chancellor who tries in the morning to tell people everything will work out fine than they see the bottom jock -- drop out of the stock market? so, the city consequences of what happened on friday night or thursday night, and so, they cannot really be reassured at the moment. there is a great feeling of uncertainty with many british people because they do not know where the journey is going to go. there is no clear goal what britain wants from the european union. that is not clear. brent: as you said, there is no grand plan hiding somewhere in the parliament's drawer.

we'll see you a little bit later. back here on the continent, europe's big three has met to drop a strategy to deal with the brexit reality. german chancellor angela merkel hosted a meeting in berlin with the french president and italian prime minister. we leaders say they want to make the brexit as quick and orderly as possible and to strengthen the eu in the hopes that no other country follows britain's lead. >> even before the french president and italian prime minister met with the german leader, it was clear they were in agreement on at least one point. >> unity is of the utmost importance. if we are clear and resolved, we will succeed. reporter: but there is not 100% agreement on everything.

while he reiterated his call to the u.k. to launch the exit process as quickly as possible, chancellor merkel took a gentler approach. >> we should avoid a deadlock of britain's exit declaration as well as the negotiations. we should wait calmly for things to proceed. reporter: other differences are emerging. in contrast to the german chancellor's support of austerity and reform measures, france and italy are pushing for a more generous eu. >> europe does not just consist of banks but is he is. europe is strong and steady. we must strengthen our solidarity. reporter: all three leaders rejected accusations that an alliance was now called the shots. they insist all decisions will be made together with the upcoming state of the upcoming summits. brent: our political discourse

monitor been on this the voting story all day. i put to him that the german chancellor sounded conciliatory and even sad. simon: she is set up the british people's decision to leave the european union. all three leaders this afternoon said how much they regretted that that was the way things had gone. but now it is time to look to what happens next and the question that has been on everyone's mind, how quickly can this formal process of britain's disentanglement from the eu begin? a lot of people saying they want to happen as quickly as possible, including both the social democrat leaders that we have seen this afternoon, the italian leader and the french president are both saying they want britain to start formal talks as soon as possible.

chancellor merkel saying he will take about a time for the british to sort themselves out, that is clear. she is being pragmatic on that point because a new promised or will have to be in place before britain can take the process forward. brent: you mention we have these three leaders meeting today in berlin at of tomorrow's summit where we are going to see all of the eu leaders come together. what can we expect to come out of that summit? simon: i think you're going to see from the europeans a closing of ranks. as i say, as far as the brexit process itself is concerned, the ball is in britain's court. britain will decide when the article 50 process can begin. what we see there will define the terms. will they want to be in and out

of the european single market and all that that implies? from the european side, and that was clear from the leaders today, what is needed is now a demonstration of unity and a demonstration as they see it -- europe does have answers for the challenges of the future. brent: in spain, the acting prime minister has claimed a victory in the second general election to be held there in six months. the vote came after he fell in his attempts to build a coalition government. but he will find a coalition partner if he is to stay in power. his conservative popular party won a hundred 37 seats in parliament, that is 40 short of a majority. his closest rivals, the socialist and have ruled out a coalition, as have the leftist alliance and the liberal.

reporter: spaniards were not surprised by the election results. many had feared the victory of brexit supporters would bolster support for spain's left wing parties. their demands for more austerity in southern europe. voters also feared that leftist groups could weaken spain's economic ties to the rest of the eu. >> people are afraid and they have apparently been less willing to protest. you could see that. for the past year the economy has improved and that should continue. >> the were not many other options. when you see with the eu demanded of greece, it was clear they do not see another path for us. that is the conservative policies of the people's parties and merkel too. >> i think the government's austerity measures will continue against my will and the will of many spaniards. >> i think the brexit made

people afraid to turn against brussels. that is what he probably would have done. reporter: he wanted to put the brakes on austerity in earmark an additional 60 billion euros of the spanish budget or programs. but spain's budget deficit is more than 5% of gdp, far above the european union's limits. if the countries parties agree on a coalition, they will soon have to discuss the issue with brussels. brent: you're watching dw news. so to come, the world's still greatest active football player maker surprises and which has argentina five -- fans crying say it ain't so. stay with us for that. plus, all the business headlines with christoph. there he is.

we will be right back. ♪

♪ brent: welcome back. our top stories -- the outgoing british by minister's brexit vote will not bring major changes in the near future and formal eu at the talks will only begin at once a new government is in place. he stressed that britain will seek continued strong economic and security ties with europe. the german chancellor angela merkel says no formal or informal talks on the brexit will begin until london invokes

article 50 of the lisbon treaty. she added that germany, france and italy will champion what they are calling in poll in europe, making those comments after talking to her counterparts. the brexit vote not only crated market turmoil, it also cost of britain is cherished credit rating. cristoph: a less predictable, stable and effective policy framework in the u.k., that is what rating agencies are seeing after the eu referendum result and has cut the uk's triple a credit rating. the result could lead to a deterioration of the uk's economic performance. rival ratings agency downgraded britain's credit rate to a double a standard just a couple minutes ago. the stock markets were again straight downhill right after the opening bell. reporter: markets worldwide

remain under pressure. wall street is down, and london -- shares of banks and other financial companies fell as investors speculated the global economic uncertainty will continue for long time. trading was suspended on monday following heavy losses on the london stock exchange. barclays share price was down over 17%. trading resumed after five minutes. despite attempts of the british five minutes -- finance minister to calm markets. >> no one should doubt our resolve to maintain the physical -- the fiscal responsibly. the british economy is fundamentally strong. we are highly repetitive -- competitive. we are open for business. reporter: the pound sterling was

down another 3% on monday. it is sitting at a 31 yellow -- yolo. christoph: a bleak picture on european markets. jens, another selloff on u.s. markets. the dow losing 260 points investors do not seem to see anything good coming out of this referendum result. jens: there is still all this uncertainty going on and nobody can really tell how things will develop from here on, and that keeps investors from buying into the stock market. they lower the credit rating, it did not really help. this is mostly a shot across the bow. s&p probably could have acted even sharper but that would've sent shockwaves through the bond market.

for sure the analysts try to avoid that. overall the two trading days, down by almost 900 points. very uncertain environment for stocks all over the globe, not just for the european but also the u.s. american stock market. christoph: the british pound sent today to a 31 year low against the u.s. dollar. when analysts predicting a parity with the greenback. is that a consensus on the trading floor? jens: that really seems to be an extreme position is that would mean the pound would drop another 30% from here on, but most analysts predict that the pound will probably level in somewhere between 1.20 and 1.30, meaning we should go little lower. you mentioned the lowest level of the pound comparison of the dollar in more than 30 years.

the dollar also trading higher in comparison to the euro, and that is not good sign for big u.s. multinational corporations. earnings season starts in two weeks and the strong dollar probably will have a negative impact on those earnings reports. with the stronger dollar, we also continue to see a lot of pressure on commodity prices. we see it over and over again, a strong dollar often puts pressure on oil prices. for instance, those fell another 3.5%. christoph: thank you. not only investors, economists and politicians ponder on what will come next for britain, ordinary citizens do as well. while ordinary citizens try to save the eu membership, just two out of five people aged 65 or older back to staying in. the majority voted out.

we have met some of them were quite confident about britain ahead. reporter: they are feeling lucky. the four londoners aborted for britain to leave the eu and now the brexit is all but certain. the consequences have been the number one topic of conversation here. like many brexit supporters, these four are convinced that britain can go it alone. >> is going to be a struggle, it will be costly for the next few years, but already we have invitations from both america, canada and germany to give us special trade deals once we exit. that is only the first three countries. we're going to have the whole world wanted to trade with great britain, the greatest country in the world. reporter: most younger brits

voted to remain in the european union. many are bitterly disappointed in the outcome of the boat. -- in the vote. some say this is generation that will make -- pay the price by the decision made by older boaters -- voters. >> i don't why they decided to vote out but they did. whether they are right or wrong, we will find out. a lot of my friends and -- friends voted to stay in. we know what we like inside the eu so we were happy to say that. reporter: many are looking ahead to an uncertain future without the eu and now they are the ones want their country back as a member of the european union. christoph: back to you, brent. brent: we have a downgrade on british credit from s%p.

christoph: britain's trade rating was downgraded even before the voting. brent: amazing development. thank you very much. let's do some sports. the european soccer championships, a battle of two heavyweights -- italy and spain. both have won the euro tournament before but only one go through to claim germany in the quarterfinals. reporter: blue versus red. italy got off to the strongest start and after half an hour, they took the lead. he poked it home from five meters. he had to pull off some world-class saves to keep his side in the match. italy held the rivals off the second half and in the 91st minute, a goal sealed the deal. spain's hopes of a third jim

widget title ended with a whimper -- championship title ended with a whimper. brent: in addition to the brexit, surprise exit in the world of soccer appeared argentina are -- argentina's star player says he is retiring. he will continue with his finest -- his spanish club but after he lost the final of the tournament, and said he would not play for his home country again. reporter: it is the end of an era. 113 games, -- >> this is my decision. i thought hard, i did everything i could to win, but the truth is this is it. it has already been four finals.

reporter: this decision came after he failed to lead argentina to victory in the final against chile. he missed from the penalty shootout and spent -- sent fans into ecstasy. argentina have not won a title in 23 years. he alone has lost fouer finals, including the 2014 world cup. but nonetheless, many considered in the world's greatest player. brent: here's a reminder of the top stories. the outgoing british prime minister david cameron says last week's brexit vote will not bring major changes in your future and he says the formal eu exit talked lonely begin once a new british government is in place. he stressed britain will continue with strong economic and security ties the year. the german chancellor says no

formal or informal talks on the brexit will begin until london invokes article 50 of the lisbon treaty. she added that germany, france and italy will champion a new impulse for your, taking those comments with her french and italian counterparts. after a short break i will be back to take you through the day. stay with us for that. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

♪ >> hello, and welcome to london for a very special edition of "focus on europe." yes, we're back in my homeland, y old haunts. we are here because the future of the european union is about to be decided in the u.k.. the british are about to vote in a referendum on whether to stay in the european union. it is all anyone is talking about. many say they want to leave to curb migration from other parts of europe -- particularly from eastern europe. we wanted to find out more. we went to one of the areas of britain most affected by that migration.