Now HOLLAND wants its own referendum to follow historic Brexit vote

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10 years ago

EU FALLING APART

A whopping 88 per cent of people polled by a top Dutch newspaper said they would be in favour of an in/out vote along British lines.

They have been inspired by possibility of Britain quitting the bloc on June 23 – and hope ‘Nexit’ will follow Brexit.

The survey, carried out by De Telegraaf, will spark fears among Brussels chiefs that the bloc is on the verge of falling apart.

Debate is beginning about having an EU referendum

Harry van Bommel

Harry van Bommel, MP for Holland’s Socialist Party, told Express.co.uk: “If Britain leaves, that will give other countries courage.

“So now debate is beginning in the Netherlands about having a referendum on EU membership.

“We cannot go on the way we are – financing Greece, trying to keep countries in the eurozone. The eurozone will break up eventually.”

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Harry van Bommel says Brexit will give Holland ‘courage’

He added: “Because we’re in the euro, Dutch people see budget cuts, unemployment going up, and they relay that to the EU.

“Everyone knows the Commissioners in Brussels make €25,000 (£19,500) a month, yet pensions go down and the pension age goes up.

“These facts make the EU very unpopular. People distrust Europe and some people even hate Europe – it’s in an existential crisis.”

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Van Bommel campaigns against a trade deal with Ukraine

Earlier this year the Netherlands overwhelmingly rejected a controversial EU proposal to remove trade barriers with Ukraine.

More than 61 per cent voted against the idea, with Dutch leader Mark Rutte admitting ratification of the treaty “cannot go ahead”.

But Eurocrats have ignored the result and claimed the deal will be adopted “very soon”, sparking a furious outcry from Eurosceptics.

Holland also rejected a move to establish the European Constitution – later replaced by the Lisbon Treaty – in a 2005 referendum.

Jose Manuel Barroso, the then president of the European Commission, admitted after the vote: “It is a difficult moment for Europe.”

But like the Ukraine vote, it was consultative rather than legally binding – with the Netherlands eventually ratifying the Lisbon Treaty in 2008.