World Bulletin / News Desk

EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday hailed a "vote against extremists" after Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte appeared to beat far-right rival Geert Wilders in elections, his spokesman said.

"@JunckerEU just spoke with @markrutte, congratulated him on clear victory: 'A vote for Europe, a vote against extremists'," Juncker's spokesman Margaritis Schinas tweeted.

Exit polls showing Rutte's Liberal VVD far ahead of Wilders and his Freedom Party were greeted with relief in Brussels amid fears of a surge in populism in Europe, with elections in France and Germany still to come in 2017.

The double shock of Britain's Brexit vote and the election of US President Donald Trump "makes the EU an anchor of stability and reason in a world of craziness," the source added.

European Parliament spokesman Jaume Duch meanwhile tweeted "2016 is not 2017" after the Dutch exit poll came through.