Backed by Luxembourg, Ireland and Sweden, the UK said at December’s EU Summit in Nice that it was unprepared to agree to voting changes that would affect indirect taxation policy and the fight against tax fraud.

However, it agreed to lift its veto and move to qualified majority voting on the free movement of professionals, including accountants and lawyers within the EU.

Although a European mutual recognition directive has been in place for almost 10 years, professionals have not always received recognition from overseas.

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales education and training director of operations Phil Armitage said, "It’s been difficult because member states haven’t enacted the legislation, or if it has been enacted, they are still enacting barriers that we believe were not intended by the directive. We believe in the freer movement of professionals and professional services and will continue to press those countries that don’t give full recognition of our members."

Member states also agreed on the removal of a 30-year block on a European Company Statue that aimed to cut down on bureaucracy for companies operating in more than one country. The statute means that companies do not need to have a complex network of subsidiaries in order to do business in different countries.

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