Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, should resign as a result of the Brexit vote, the Czech foreign minister said on Sunday, as splits emerged over the future direction of Europe among the EU's remaining 27 members.

The EU chief, who has repeatedly called for “more Europe” to fix the continent's mounting crises, was a “negative symbol” of the kind of federalism that British voters rejected, said Lubomír Zaorálek, the Czech foreign minister.

"In my opinion, he [Juncker] is not the right person for that position. We have to ask who is responsible for the result of the referendum in Britain," said Mr Zaorálek on Czech television.

Smaller EU states fear that Britain’s departure could leave them at the mercy of new plans to deepen integration. As Brussels digests the loss of the world's fifth largest economy and the risk that populist parties across Europe will demand their own referendums on membership, officials from the other 27 states met in Brussels to assemble a united front at this week’s EU summit.

When this meeting begins on Wednesday, Britain's representatives will be pointedly left outside the room as “the 27” discuss a raft of measures, including deeper security and counter-terrorism cooperation, designed to demonstrate their “determination” to keep the EU together.