Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's vice chancellor and economy minister, on Twitter. ___ "I will do everything I can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months, but I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers the country to its next destination." — British Prime Minister David Cameron, announcing his intention to resign. ___ "The dawn is breaking on an independent United Kingdom. Let June 23 go down in our history as our independence day!" — Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party. ___ "It's true that the past years have been the most difficult ones in the history of our Union. But I always remember what my father used to tell me: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." — EU President Donald Tusk, speaking to reporters in Brussels. ___ "The European Union is strong enough to give the right answers to today." — German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking in Berlin. ___ "A victory for freedom. We now need the same referendum in France and in EU nations." — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen. ___ "The British referendum will either serve as a wake-up call for the sleepwalker heading toward the void, or it will be the beginning of a very dangerous and slippery course for our peoples." — Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. ___ "Huge numbers of people in the EU reject the EU's immigration policy, there's big disappointment with the economic policy." — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. ___ Britain's decision "is not the end of the world and above all not the end of the European Union." — Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, on Facebook. ___ "The British people defeated the political elite in Brussels and in London and now they are in charge again. Now it is our turn." — Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders. ___ "I think an independence referendum is now highly likely, but I also think it's important that we take time to consider all steps." — Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. ___ "We must do everything to avoid the domino effect, a situation when other member nations also say that they don't want to be in the European Union any longer." — Polish President Andrzej Duda, speaking in Krakow. ___ "Today the European flag is at half-mast, but sometimes it is necessary to take a step back before taking a step forward." — Pedro Agramunt, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, speaking in Strasbourg. ___ "What matters now is that we keep Europe together." — German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaking in Luxembourg. ___ "I can only give a sigh: So it's done. This is bad news for Europe, bad news for Poland. It means instability of the situation in Britain now." — Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski. ___ "The people of the United Kingdom ... have declared their independence from the European Union, and have voted to reassert control over their own politics, borders and economy." — Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican U.S. presidential nominee, on Facebook. ___ "We urge the authorities in the U.K. and Europe to work collaboratively to ensure a smooth transition to a new economic relationship." — Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
