Half of Europeans want referendum on EU membership

Half of Europeans believe their own country should hold a referendum on whether or not it should remain in the European Union, according to a poll by Ipsos Mori.

The survey also showed that Europeans believe a vote by Britain to leave the European Union could spark a domino effect causing other countries to leave the bloc, with four in 10 foreseeing a reduced EU by the end of the decade.

An average of half of respondents in Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden believe their own country should hold a referendum on staying in the EU.

The poll also showed an average of 49 per cent think Britain will vote to leave in June’s referendum.

“Internationally, the more common view is that the UK would suffer less than the EU from the break-up,” Bobby Duffy, the managing director of Ipsos Mori’s Social Research Institute, said in a statement.

Europeans “feel there is likely to be a ripple effect following the UK vote” and this “lends a sense that even if the vote is to stick with the status quo in June, it will not be the end of the EU’s challenges”.

The poll coincides with a warning by British Prime Minister David Cameron that Britain's membership of the EU is key to preventing future conflict in Europe.

Cameron’s latest appeal to Britons to vote to stay in June 23rd’s referendum, delivered in a speech in London on Monday, came after a series of warnings by the UK Treasury that an exit from the bloc would hurt Britain’s economy and jobs.

Britons themselves were less convinced, with only 35 per cent saying an exit was likely, according to Ipsos Mori.

Business leaders were equally likely to back a vote to stay in, with a separate survey by the Institute of Directors showing 63 per cent of its members surveyed were in favour of remaining.

Italy and France were most likely to back a referendum on membership in the Ipsos poll, with a majority of respondents backing calls for a vote.

About half of respondents said a so-called Brexit would have a negative impact on the EU’s economy and its influence on the world stage.

Ipsos Mori surveyed between 500 and 1,000 people under 65 in each country online between March 25th and April 8th. The Institute of Directors surveyed 1,224 of its members between April 28th and April 13th.

Bloomberg