Jean-Claude Juncker has urged EU leaders not to hold referendums

Jean-Claude Juncker has urged EU leaders not to hold referendums on their membership of the bloc because he fears their voters will also choose to leave.

The European Commission president said giving people a vote would be 'unwise' as they could seek to replicate Brexit.

His remarks come as one of the contenders to become Austrian president has threatened to hold a referendum if the EU integrates further.

Norbert Hofer, who will become Europe's first far-right head of state since the Second World War if elected on Sunday, has promised a ballot if the EU becomes more centralised following Brexit.

Asked about the Freedom Party candidate's pledge, Mr Juncker told Euronews: 'We can't deny or take away the people of Europe's right to express their views.

'Regarding referenda on EU membership, I think it is not wise to organise this kind of debate, not only because I might be concerned about the final result but because this will pile more controversy onto the huge number already present at the heart of the EU.

'Besides, I don't think the next president of Austria, whoever it will be, will launch themselves into this kind of escapade.

'I have learned to tell the difference, between campaign promises and concrete policies.

Mr Juncker, who has faced blame for the Brexit vote, insisted 'the existence of the EU is not in doubt'.

He claimed the EU's weakness was a 'lack of love' rather than because of the actions of Brussels.

Norbert Hofer has promised a ballot if the EU becomes more centralised following Brexit

'We do not know a great deal about each other,' he said. 'What do the people in Lapland know about Sicily?

'What do the Italians in the south know about the depths of Poland? Nothing. We need to take more of an interest in each other.'

Mr Juncker dismissed Marine Le Pen's chances of being elected French president, saying: 'This is a hypothesis that I do not think will come to pass. It is a question that we should not even be asking.'

Asked about whether Britain would be made an example of to discourage other countries from leaving the EU, Mr Juncker said: 'It is not really a question of that. I am not looking for revenge when it comes to the UK.

'The British have had their say by universal suffrage. I hope others do not do the same.

'But, regarding the UK, we must not come at this in the spirit of revenge. We must sort out the problems this has caused for the UK and for Europeans.

'We will make sure relations between the British Isles and the continent remain harmonious, all the while knowing that the British cannot have the same rights and advantages as citizens of the European Union.'

Polls in Austria show the result is too close to call. The election is a re-run of a vote held in May in which Mr Hofer was beaten by only about 30,000 votes by independent rival Alexander Van der Bellen, a 72-year-old staunchly pro-EU retired economics professor.