EU governments fear that the Brexit vote would lead to a referendum contagion across the continent and that far - right parties might use it to express anti - EU sentiments threatening the accession agreement , the euro and EU membership itself . According to a recent Ipsos Mori poll , 55 % of the electorate in France and 58 % in Italy would like to take the issue of EU membership to a vote , with more than half the respondents believing Brexit would have a ' domino effect . ' As the Vote Leave campaign gained momentum and the probability of victory higher than Downing Street hoped , governments are starting to look for the possibility of Brexit and how they would engage with the UK .
EU governments fear that the Brexit vote will lead to a referendum contagion across the continent and that far-right parties would use it to fuel anti-EU sentiments threatening the Schengen agreement, the euro and EU membership itself. According to a recent Ipsos Mori poll, 55% of the electorate in France and 58% in Italy would like to take the issue of EU membership to a vote, with more than half the respondents believing Brexit would have a 'domino effect.' As the Vote Leave campaign gathers momentum and the probability of victory higher than Downing Street hoped, governments are starting to prepare for the possibility of Brexit and how they would engage with the UK.