The Netherlands should be looking for new alliances within the EU to prevent dominance by Berlin and Paris when Britain leaves the group in 24 months, the top government policy policy board for international relations has told parliament.

The policy board (Adviesraad voor Internationale Vraagstukken) also warned of a minority of southern EU member states which favour protectionism, the Financieele Dagblad said on Thursday. In the absence of Britain, the Netherlands will have to step up efforts to safeguard free trade, it added.

The Netherlands is already hard at work building new alliances. Prime minister Mark Rutte is hosting a lunch on Friday in his official residence in The Hague for his Irish and Danish counterparts.

And the Benelux countries are shortly to meet with the four members of the Visegrad pact which includes the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovokia. A  meeting with the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is also planned, the FD said.