Government slams Euro move to shake up contract law

The UK government has thrown cold water on European Commission plans to harmonise contract law between member states.In its response to a communication in July, which suggested that varying contract laws across Europe add to the costs of cross-border transactions, the government said that the option of replacing existing laws with Europe-wide legislation is 'disproportionate and likely to cut across the principle of subsidiarity'.

The response, signed by Lord Chancellor's Department minister Michael Wills, added: 'The UK considers that EC legislation should focus on specifically identified problems on a case-by-case basis.

It would have considerable difficulty with any option that would displace the generality of existing national contract law.'While recognising that problems with some cross-border contracts may limit the functioning of the internal market, Mr Wills said that 'apractical and proportionate response to problems caused, essentially, by unfamiliarity with different laws is likely to focus on improving access to information and guidance about those laws'.Neil Rose