It was not quite Agincourt, but 500 miles away across France in Biarritz, Great Britain and her allies repulsed a French assault on the independence of the national game — for now.

The southwestern coastal town hosted an informal summit of EU sports ministers at which France, in the shape of Bernard Laporte, the Sports Minister, wanted to establish the principle of pan-European financial licensing for sports.

A draft of the conclusions drawn up by the French, who hold the EU’s rotating presidency, included support from the 27 ministers for “European control of club management”. But after two days of wrangling, this phrase and an entire section referring to a possible European “self-regulatory system” were expunged from the final summit declaration.

For the Premier League, which feared that the meeting could mark the beginning of a move towards a European super-regulator, the outcome will come as a relief and it was heralded as a triumph by Gerry Sutcliffe, the Sports Minister, who objected to Laporte’s open hostility towards the success of English football clubs.

Sutcliffe said: “It has been very successful. Everything we wanted to be withdrawn from the ministerial statement has been, so we are very pleased with that. There is nothing in there now about the regulation of clubs as far as Europe is concerned. That is now a matter for Uefa to discuss with clubs.”

But the victory will not satisfy Laporte and others who feel that the top English sides enjoy an unfair advantage because they can borrow more than continental teams and run up higher debts in the pursuit of success.

Even though the EU has no formal power to set regulations for sport, further discussions are planned at a European level about the structure of football, and, ominously, the stalled Lisbon Treaty would give Brussels a legal say over sports matters for the first time. The treaty was defeated in a referendum in Ireland in May but the Government there is expected to put it to voters again next autumn.

Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Culture Secretary, Media and Sport, has called for a debate on domestic football finances and expects to receive evidence from the Premier League in the new year.

In Biarritz yesterday, Michel Platini, the Uefa president, told ministers that his organisation was minded to introduce rules on finances for clubs in its own European competitions. He said that he had no intention of interfering with rules for domestic leagues but wanted to ensure “financial fair play” in Uefa competitions. If such a move were agreed, it could mean that clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool who regularly qualify for the Champions League would have to satisfy Uefa rules on debts and, perhaps, even how much they spend on wages.

Platini said: “What Uefa can do — and we are thinking seriously about doing it — is to reinforce and improve our system for granting licences for our own club competitions. It is in this way that we wish to contribute to financial fair play and start responding to the expectations of the various parties involved in our sport.” While a battle was won in Biarritz, clearly the conflict is set to continue.

Platini also set out his call for a ban on transfers of players under the age of 18, a move opposed by the Premier League. “In numerous European states, strict rules exist which prevent clubs — on threat of sporting sanctions — poaching [young players] from their rivals’ training centres,” he said. “These rules do not exist at European Union level. It is in this context that we would like to be able to ban international transfers of players under the age of 18 within the EU.”