The European Union must cut red tape and create a more outward-looking single market to meet the challenges of the 21st century, British finance minister Gordon Brown said today.
Attending a meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels, Mr Brown said the single market was one of the greatest successes of the European Union.
But he warned the pace of reform had slowed in recent years and the bloc needed to do more to encourage competition in areas such as financial services, energy and telecoms.
"We must not allow the single market . . . to be overwhelmed by national champions or protectionism," he said in a statement.
"In the globalised world of the 21st century the EU must work harder to open up markets and promote competition to ensure faster growth and jobs for all of the EU's citizens."
Mr Brown, widely expected to replace Tony Blair as British prime minister later this year, has often blamed structural rigidities in Europe's economy for the region's stubbornly high unemployment rate.