UK anger as Europe agrees toughest pay rules in the world The agreement formed part of the Capital Requirements directive, a large piece of regulation that also included rules to force banks to disclose their profits they make in each country across Europe. The move is seen as a direct effort by countries that want to boost their tax take from financial firms. Iain Coke, head of the financial services at the ICAEW, told reporters: "Country-by-country reporting is not of use to investors and should not be included in annual reports. It's a political debate for finance ministers over how much tax take each is getting relative to the others. Last night, as Treasury officials vowed to keep fighting the rules, European leaders said the UK was over-reacting. Michel Barnier, EU Internal Market Commissioner, said: "I don't think it is likely that banks that have an interest in working today and tomorrow in the single market will take the risk of leaving the single market simply because of this reason of the remuneration of their executives," he said. The agreement, which was reached between the European Parliament and the European Commission, still has to be approved by the Council of ministers. The approval is normally seen as a formality but the Federation of European Employers (FedEE) has called for a legal challenge. Robin Chater, Secretary General of the FedEE, said the move was "beyond the powers vested in the European Union." "We have major international banks that are based in the UK but have branches and activities all over the world," the prime minister said.