Brussels, 03/11/2003 (Agence Europe) - In a joint commentary published on Monday by the Financial Times, the British and Estonian Prime Ministers, Tony Blair and Juhan Parts, consider it hardly surprising that several member states, present and new, do not support the initiative aiming to widen qualified majority voting to taxation. Our two countries are part of them, and we will continue to defend this position in the intergovernmental conference, they assure. The two Heads of Government (for whom, in principal, taxation should be a question of national sovereignty) feel that 'at a time when we need to make Europe's economies more responsive, harmonising tax systems would be a giant step in the wrong direction.' By making everybody follow the same tax rules, we would rapidly reduce European competitiveness, breaking jobs and suffocating growth, they add.