One of his first moves in office was to persuade his European Union peers to remove a clause from the now-frozen Lisbon treaty stating that competition was a key EU objective.

ECONOMIST: Europe and America

In a separate report the Commission also recommended opening talks with Kosovo on reaching a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU - a key step towards full EU accession negotiations.

BBC: EU Commission: 'Start Serbia membership talks'

The areas presently subject to QMV are limited, with key issues requiring agreement by all EU members.

BBC: Europe: The issues