The European Union’s energy commissioner has called for a 100kph — 62mph — speed limit to be adopted throughout Europe. Andris Piebalgs said roads in all 25 member states should be posted with a uniform limit to cut accidents and save fuel. His suggestion follows a recommendation by the International Energy Association in Paris and is seen as a quick way to cut energy consumption in response to depleted oil reserves.

“If in Germany cars are speeding at 200kph (124mph) they are using too much petrol,” said Piebalgs. He was speaking at a meeting in Germany, where motorists enjoy the only speed-limit-free roads in the EU.

A comment on the website of Der Spiegel, the German news magazine, said: “With those speed limits we would be castrated.”

Piebalgs’s proposal came as the European economic and social committee, a body that advises the European commission on drawing up new legislation, launched an initiative to create a common European highway code. Its aim is to remove the wide variations in road regulations of member states.

The committee said that in Portugal it is illegal to drive with daytime lights while in northern and eastern Europe lights cannot be switched off. Critics point out the contrasting weather conditions in Scandinavia and Portugal.

The committee wants a commission white paper, with legislation to follow.