Ireland to oppose EU on accounting standard

The Republic is to lobby against proposals from the European Commission concerning a proposed new international accounting standard.

The Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Michael Ahern, has expressed concern at the Commission's stance in relation to one of the standards, IAS 39, which deals with the measurement and recognition of financial instruments.

The Commission has cited technical difficulties for Europe's banking sector as a basis for not adopting the standard in its current form.

It has instead put three options to member-states and expressed a preference for adopting a "carved-out version" of the standard.

Mr Ahern said he feared the development of a set of Europeanised as against a set of truly international standards. This would have a negative effect on European companies.

He said he would be directing the Republic's approach in negotiations due over the coming weeks. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland said it supported Mr Ahern's approach.

It said it wanted to preserve the principle of there being global standards.