South East of England MEP, Nirj Deva has today (Thursday) slammed European Commission plans to force British manufacturers to label their goods ‘Made in the EU’ as “utterly pointless” and “utterly ridiculous”.

The plans, which form part of an internal working document being discussed by senior Commission Officials with a view to preparing draft legislation for debate in the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, will be formally discussed later in the month.

Speaking from his London office, the MEP said:

“Products throughout the world are recognised as high quality goods by the ‘Made in Britain’ label. These misguided European Commission proposals could mean the end of this proud tradition and make it difficult for firms to promote their products as British. It is essential that nations can promote their products in any way they wish, in

“In their haste to promote the EU abroad, the European Commission is simply going to add more costs, more red tape and more bureaucracy, to businesses already overburdened by unnecessary regulation from Brussels.

“I fail to see how this regulation will, in any way, benefit Britain”.