Guy Verhofstadt

Britain should trigger its divorce from the EU as soon as possible and formally leave by 2019, the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said on Tuesday.

The European Union says it will not be "paralysed" after Britons voted to leave, but Brussels policymakers say uncertainty over Britain's future is already complicating the lawmaking process for the rest of the EU.

As divided Belgium heads into elections this weekend, one of the rare politicians to unite its Dutch-speaking north and French south is tough-talking Maggie De Block, its supersize immigration minister.

Britain should trigger its divorce from the EU as soon as possible and formally leave by 2019, the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said on Tuesday.

The European Union says it will not be "paralysed" after Britons voted to leave, but Brussels policymakers say uncertainty over Britain's future is already complicating the lawmaking process for the rest of the EU.

As divided Belgium heads into elections this weekend, one of the rare politicians to unite its Dutch-speaking north and French south is tough-talking Maggie De Block, its supersize immigration minister.