Frits Bolkestein, former leader of the right-wing Liberal party VVD and a former European commissioner says in an interview with today’s Volkskrant that he backs calls for a referendum on the new European treaty.

‘If the government does not organise a referendum, people with think they are trying to sneak changes in through the back door,’ he said. VVD MPs are not expected to decide on their position until the final treaty has been published, news agency ANP said.