The Dutch pensions minister, Henk Kamp, is working together with his counterparts in the UK, Germany and Ireland to corral opposition to the EU's proposed new pensions reforms - a quadrumvirate that is close to forming a blocking minority in the EU's governing council.

In a letter to a Dutch parliamentary committee earlier this week, Kamp disclosed he is "working closely" with his counterparts in Germany, Ireland and the UK. "We have already taken joint action towards the European Commission and will - at various appropriate times in the future - continue to do so."