It would also have included direct debits in the package, allowing a company or utility in one euro country to draw funds directly from a customer's bank account in another.

As the bottom layer of the ODFDOM hierarchical structure, it provides direct access to the physical storage in the ODF package, such as XML streams, pictures, and embedded objects.

With any direct changes to entitlement programs and the tax code likely to be left out of the package, the coast is now clear for the big business groups to jump in.