EU Trade Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan yesterday dismissed the suggestion that member-states could one day give up their power to veto tax changes.
"It's just not going to happen because if you talk to the Dutch, or the Danes, or the Swedes, or the Austrians, they are simply not going to agree to this," he said.
He said ending the unanimity rule on tax affairs would require a unanimous vote by all 15 members, something he predicted would be impossible.
"Mr Lafontaine and Mr (Dominique) Strauss-Kahn can huff and puff until the cows come home. The history of Europe is littered with hares that have been run into the ground."