(ANSA) - Rome, June 27 - Premier Matteo Renzi said Monday that Britain's vote to leave the European Union "weighs on the history of the EU like a boulder". "We are faced with a historic event," Renzi told the Senate as he reported to parliament before this week's European summit.

"Anyone who today tried to play it down or exploit it would be making a political mistake".

Renzi also said, however, that Britain's vote to leave the European Union could actually be a good opportunity for the bloc.

"We will respect what the British decide but Europe must move because if we spend a year waiting, we'll lose the challenge with the priorities of our time," he told the Senate. "What happened in the United Kingdom could be the greatest opportunity for Europe if we stop being on the defensive".

Renzi spoke to United States Secretary of State John Kerry on the telephone on Monday and the consequences of the Brexit was among the issues discussed, ANSA sources said. Renzi is set to fly to Berlin later on Monday for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and European Council President Donald Tusk ahead of the European summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. The EU has called on London to move quickly on exit negotiations but outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will not activate Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start off this process but will leave this to his successor.

