European Union (EU) ministers on Thursday reached agreement on new rules to foster cross-border mergers after they got comprise on the issue of workers' rights, said a press release of the EU executive European Commission (EC).

The new directive, unveiled last year by the EC, was designed to help a revival in Europe's mergers and acquisitions market by removing existing legal barriers to cross-border mergers.

The EC said it welcomed the agreement by the EU Competitive Council, adding that the directive will be particularly helpful for small and medium sized companies that want to operate in more than one EU country.

EU Single Market Commissioner Charlie Mc Creevy said: "The difficulty or impossibility of cross-border mergers is a major practical obstacle to Europe's competitiveness. It is high time itwas put right".

The cross-border mergers proposal still needs to be assessed by the European Parliament before it can become law throughout the 25-nation bloc. The European Parliament is expected to adopt its opinion early in 2005.

Source: Xinhua