Mr Frits Bolkestein, the EU's single market commissioner, yesterday presented plans on corporate governance and statutory audits with a promise to uphold Europe's regulatory independence from the US.

In a plan that was a mixture of legislative ambition and exhortation, Mr Bolkestein backed many of the findings of a high-level working group. These include a call for independent directors to supervise executive pay and audits. But he rejected its call for independent directors to be responsible for appointments.

"Enron, WorldCom, HealthSouth and Ahold are part of a hall of shame," Mr Bolkestein said. "These proposals are a European solution... We shall regulate our own business." He reaffirmed the Commission's opposition to US requirements for EU firms to register with the US's public company accounting oversight board by April next year, which he called "unnecessary, burdensome and disproportionate".

The Commission continues to threaten parallel measures that would require US firms to register in the EU if no agreement is found. At present, the Commission's approach to harmonising EU audit practice is largely based on recommendations that Mr Bolkestein hopes will become benchmarks that shareholders will judge companies by.

"We don't want to overreact," he said. "The problems may very well be easily and quickly solved by recommendation."