European Commission president Romano Prodi has said he wants Brussels to be given powers to levy direct taxes across the European Union (EU).

In a speech to the European Parliament, Mr Prodi also called for greater coordination of the EU's economic policy.

Like all pan-EU tax issues, the proposal could be highly controversial.

In the past, both attempts to introduce taxation powers for Brussels and attempts to harmonise taxes have been met with strong resistance from many member states, most notably the UK.

New authority

Mr Prodi called for "a new system based on fiscal resources in place of the current complex financial system".

"A system that grants the budgetary authority - the Parliament and the Council of Ministers - the power to impose a tax policy," he said.

If the idea was to get beyond the proposal stage, it could add to the EU's 90bn euros (�57bn; $83bn) annual budget which is controlled by the Parliament and the Council.

But Mr Prodi's push for a stronger fiscal role for Brussels is likely to be met with much resistance.

His call for a single political voice to represent the eurozone in international economic and financial institutions could also be equally controversial.