Conservative leader William Hague has called for less European centralisation at a conference in Poland.

Mr Hague told a meeting of centre-right parties in that the EU must be more flexible as new members join.

But he denied suggestions that his demand for looser membership rules would eventually lead to Britain leaving the EU.

"Europe will never succeed in winning the confidence of people in Britain ... if it rides roughshod over the interests of its component nations.

"It must allow Britain to be Britain. It must allow Poland to be Poland," Mr Hague told delegates to the Krakow conference.

He warned that Tony Blair's government and Brussels bureaucrats were pushing ahead with plans to create a European superstate.

"What they are pushing for is a European Union with its own government, its own army, its own taxes, its own foreign policy, its own criminal justice system, its own constitution, as well as its own currency - in other words, a single European state."

"The national veto would be abolished in areas such as aspects of social security, social policy, industrial and transport policy, financial regulation and the spending of the multi-million pound structural and cohesion funds," he added.

Mr Hague said the "great majority of the people of Europe and the mainstream majority of the British people" do not want to be part of a European state.

'Rules and regulations'

Speaking ahead of the conference, he told the BBC his position needed to be adopted now.

"If we don't do it now it will be too late and more of the rights and powers of this country will be given away," he said.

Mr Hague denied he was extremist in his views and said his policies on Europe were not only supported by his party, but also by the vast majority of the country.

"Far from being extreme we stand for the mainstream, majority view of the people in this country who do want to be in Europe but not run by Europe," he said.

Government ministers did not realise how out of touch they are with the country on these European issues, he said.

Mr Hague insisted the Conservatives did not want to withdraw from the European Union and rejected leaving it "as far as one can ever see into the future".

"The way we're going to make it a success is to argue for our vision for Europe, not just go with the flow and go with the arguments of the people who want to centralise us," he said.