Britain will soon regret Brexit: Juncker

The UK will soon regret voting to leave the EU, as the European Union plans to move on from Brexit, the European Commission president has said.

In a speech setting out the future direction of the bloc, Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday said the UK's exit would be a "sad and tragic" moment, but it was "not the be all and end all" for the 27-member union.

Brexit is not the future of Europe. It is not the be all and end all, he told told the European Parliament.

Juncker evoked the Queen to describe how Brexit helped to make 2016 an "annus horribilis" for the European project.

This will be a very sad and tragic moment in our history. We will always regret this, and I think that you will regret it as well, soon, he said

Nonetheless we have to respect the will of the British people. But we are going to make progress. We will move on because Brexit isn't everything, it's not the future of everything, it's not the be all and end all.

Junker called for closer economic and defence co-operation among member states, including more support for states outside the eurozone to prepare them to join the single currency, and reforms to the single market.