BERLIN -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday it was understandable Britain needed some reaction time after it decided to leave the European Union (EU) in a referendum last week, but warned the impasse could not last too long.

"I can understand to some degree that Britain needs some time to analysis the situation," she told a press conference here.

The British people voted in favor of leaving the EU in a referendum last week, but the country will remain a member of the bloc until it formally submits a notification to trigger the Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he would leave the task to his successor when he steps down in October.

"We can't have a permanent impasse," Merkel said, as it would "not be good" for either the remaining 27 EU member states or Britain.

She said there would be no informal negotiations about Britain's exit before the country formally notified its intention to leave.

The chancellor was due to meet French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Berlin later on Monday.

"We must do everything to prevent centrifugal forces," she said.