Complying with the Lisbon Treaty will the cost UK businesses £6.1 billion this year and has stripped £12.2 billion from firms since its inception in 2009, a pressure group has calculated.

The Lisbon Treaty was signed into law on 1 December 2009 and aims to streamline European Institutions and make the 27-country bloc more democratic and efficient.

But anti-EU group Business for Britain (BfB) says EU regulations either created by the new pact, or stemming from it, have lumped billions onto the cost of doing business for firms based in the UK.

Relying on government data it says firms have lost out to the tune of £12.2 billion so far, and that losses currently amount to £6.1 per year.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of BfB, said: “The Lisbon Treaty was hugely unpopular at the time, and we can now see that it has increased the cost of doing business in Britain.

“Our research makes a compelling case for the government to use the forthcoming renegotiation to reverse some of the most expensive provisions of the Lisbon Treaty.”