A plan to double the number of judges appointed to the European Court of Justice at a cost of €20 million a year looks about to be approved despite opposition from the EU court itself.

Britain, which opposes the proposal, is expected to be outvoted on the decision at meeting of Europe ministers on May 19. A European diplomat said: “This is a big setback for countries like the UK, especially, that wanted to show that EU institutions can be reformed and streamlined. It doesn’t look good.”

The “General Court” has 28 judges, each paid more than €220,000 a year, one for each of the countries in the EU. The number of judges is almost certain to double to 56, prompting accusations of profligacy at