The latest European Commission plans for international aid mark "a blow for development", Britain has warned.

International development minister Gareth Thomas warned that plans to focus more spending on countries geographically close to the continent are "a clear step backwards".

Speaking on Wednesday, he said the commission should reverse its latest thinking and ensure a greater focus on tackling poverty.

His comments come amid increased tensions between Britain and the Commission over plans to tackle global poverty.

Last week, chancellor Gordon Brown said it was "nonsensical" that less then half of the EU's development aid was spent in low income countries.

Mounting criticism from the government comes as the Conservatives call for Britain's withdrawal from EU aid programmes.

The Opposition argues that the money would be more effectively spent if it was controlled by officials in London rather than Brussels.

With EU aid programmes amounting to around £6 billion, Thomas said that the money should be "directed where it will be most effective in eradicating poverty".

"The EC must increase its aid to the poorest developing countries by refocusing EC budget resources on agreed EU policy objectives, especially the millennium development goals, rather than pre-allocating funds to favoured geographical regions," he said.

Britain wants more emphasis put on global poverty, with less cash being devoted to "geographical and thematic budgets" that allow for spending in relatively well-off areas such as the Balkans.

"This is something which the British government has been pressing the Commission and our EU partners to act upon for some time," continued Thomas.

He said plans set out by the Commission in February, proposing a "more effective" budget after 2007, were a step in the right direction.

But a further policy statement in July was "a clear step backwards", warned Thomas.

"It abandoned the January approach by switching funding originally earmarked for the development budget to the European Neighbourhood Instrument.

"This would be a blow for development worldwide."

Thomas said the European Investment Bank should take an "enhanced role" in lending to middle income countries so that more aid cash would be available for low income countries.

"There needs to be robust and transparent resource allocation criteria, to be applied universally on the basis of needs and performance, to govern levels of development assistance to all developing countries," the minister added.

"This remains the key to improving spending and effectiveness."