UK to Give Up 2017 Presidency of European Council in Light of Brexit Vote

Newly-appointed UK Prime Minister Theresa May has made a decision to relinquish the country's 2017 presidency of the European Council (EC) in light of the Brexit vote, media reported Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) —According to the Irish broadcaster RTE, May had a phone conversation with European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday, during which she informed him about the decision.

Skipping the United Kingdom's turn for the presidency would be "the right thing to do given we will be very busy with negotiations to leave the EU," May told Tusk, as cited by the broadcaster.

The United Kingdom was due to take up the six-month presidency of the European Council in the second half of 2017.

On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit. As a result of the popular vote, May, having served as home secretary for the past six years, became the UK new prime minister, following David Cameron’s official resignation and subsequent internal party leadership contest.