European Union governments ditched plans to establish an EU-wide digital tax following opposition from Nordic countries and Ireland, Reuters reported March 12, citing an official statement.

Speaking in a public session of a meeting of EU finance ministers, Romanian Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici said ministers failed to reach an agreement and would now focus on creating a uniform, global taxation policy for internet companies, such as Alphabet Inc.'s Google LLC and Facebook Inc., by 2020.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is currently working on a global reform of digital taxation. The EU will reopen its debate on possible tax measures if the OECD's planned reform is delayed, Teodorovici said.