The UK is finding itself isolated in a row over tax as the EU summit opens in Helsinki.

Chancellor Gordon Brown has again made clear his determination to reject EU plans for a Europe-wide tax on savings.

Arguments over the French beef ban and the savings tax look set to overshadow the summit, which will also discuss EU enlargement and defence co-operation.

Mr Brown said after a four-hour meeting that the move would destroy thousands of jobs in the City of London.

He said: "We are tough on this issue because we are clear that the Eurobond market in London gives us large numbers of jobs, which is important to the wealth of our country and the wealth of Europe."

Talks on Thursday night among European finance ministers ended with no agreement over the proposed tax, with Mr Brown seeking a total exemption for euro bonds.

Germany and France are furious and their leaders are likely to take UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to task over the issue during the two-day summit.

German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said: "There shouldn't be tax havens for individual citizens in Europe."

Beef row

However France itself can expect to come in for some criticism for flouting EU law by banning British beef imports.

Mr Blair has already condemned France's refusal to lift the ban as "completely and totally wrong".

Before leaving for Finland he said: "We can't have countries simply picking and choosing which laws they obey."

The UK Opposition leader William Hague criticised the government for failing to negotiate actively enough.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "They didn't even put this on the agenda of the Anglo-French summit last week, so complacently did they assume that the ban was going to be lifted.

"They should have commenced, and pressed the Commission to commence, legal action at an earlier stage. If they'd done all of these things they would have had a much better chance."

Mr Hague, who has been accused by Mr Blair of being a Europhobe, also criticised plans for tax harmonisation.

He said: "We should be saying what can we do to enhance the competitive advantage of our own country or Europe as a whole rather than to all adopt the same high taxes and the same excessive regulations."

Military muscle

The two rows may distract the 15 heads of government from an already packed agenda.

The summit was supposed to be a demonstration of the EU's new military muscle, setting up a military arm separate from Nato.

Heads of state and government were also supposed to widen the group of applicants for full EU membership to 12.

Six applicants will be invited to start formal negotiations - Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria and Malta.

But experts say there is no doubt in Brussels that it will be many years before most of them will fulfil the criteria for membership.

Question marks over Turkey

Another major issue which will dominate talks is whether Turkey will be named at the summit as an official candidate to join the EU.

Most member states are prepared to admit Ankara to the group of 12 candidates - decades after Turkey first applied.

But Greece has been using its veto to block closer ties between the EU and Turkey. Athens mainly wants further Turkish concessions on the issue of Cyprus before it grants its neighbour candidate status.

Chechnya on the agenda

The increasing violence in Chechnya is also moving up the agenda in Helsinki.

Officials said the summit would issue a statement criticising Moscow for its bombardment of Chechen cities, and again urge Russia to seek a political solution to the conflict.

However European leaders were unlikely to agree on economic sanctions against Moscow, sources said.