PARIS (Sputnik) – On Thursday, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union.
"The European Union can no longer function as before. Its deep restructuring is urgent and had to be considered long ago. In this regard, I call on the EU heads of state and governments to decide to devise a new basic treaty, which will demonstrate our people that Europe is ready to take their destiny into their own hands," Sarkozy said in an address.
He added that French and other European citizens shared the sentiment of 51.9 percent British voters who voiced their anti-EU stance in Thursday's nationwide referendum.
"What the British said in the vote could be supported by residents of other EU countries. We should not and cannot ignore that," Sarkozy stressed.
