European Union countries today backed moves to slash EU red tape by a quarter from 2012 to boost growth but rejected a single or binding target for cutting the burden of national rules.
EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said cutting the cost of red tape would boost the bloc's growth by the equivalent of 3.5 per cent over time.
The step is part of the European Commission's business-friendly "better regulation" policy to fight accusations that Brussels is a bureaucracy out of control.
The binding EU-wide target is set to be endorsed at a summit of the 27-country bloc's leaders next month.
The executive commission also wanted EU states to commit by October 2008 to a plan for cutting national red tape by a quarter, but Mr Verheugen appeared to soften his stance as opposition to a binding national target became clear.
A 25 per cent target for national rules would be a political aspiration rather than binding, he told ministers.
Britain, Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands supported both sets of targets, but most countries spoke against a fixed national goal.
Ireland, which often adopts a lighter-touch regime, said states should take an approach suitable for their own needs.