Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday said Britain commanded a "blocking minority" among European Union governments which could scupper reforms to restrict the working week throughout the 25-nation bloc to 48 hours.

"We actually believe we have a blocking minority," Blair said.

When asked by journalists whether Britain would abide by EU reforms if the bloc eliminated a so-called opt-out clause allowing countries to ignore the 48-hour week directive, he said that he had "no intention" of failing and criticized the reform.

"We've got to have a fundamental debate in Europe about the direction Europe wants to go," Blair said at his first press conference since winning a third term in government last week.

"Because the fact is the competition that Europe's economies face from the emerging economies of the world -- never mind America, but the new economies of China and India -- means that we simply cannot afford to give up our flexibility," he said.

"We've got to mobilize people and governments to set our face against this."

EU lawmakers in Brussels voted Wedensday to scrap the opt-out clause, which is currently in wide use in Britain. The reform could lead to its being phased out after a transition period of three years.

However, it must be discussed and negotiated by EU governments before becoming law.

Aside from Britain, where it is used across many sectors, the opt-out to the 48 hours is applied in the rest of the EU mainly in the specific industries such as tourism and health care.