The leaders of the eurozone's biggest economies held talks on Monday in the aftermath of Britain's shock decision to leave the European Union and said Europe had to turn its back on populists who blamed Brussels for all its problems.

Speaking on an aircraft carrier off the Italian island of Ventotene, Germany's Angela Merkel, France's Francois Hollande and Italy's Matteo Renzi issued calls for closer security cooperation and better opportunities for young people.

In a meeting heavy on symbolism, the three leaders visited Ventotene to lay a wreath on the tomb of Altiero Spinelli, an Italian intellectual seen as a founding father of European unity.