The proposals, which the European Parliament will vote on next month, would entitle women leaving work to have children to 20 weeks' leave on full pay.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) argues this is unaffordable, and has called the figures "eye watering".
BCC head of European affairs Kieran O'Keeffe said: "This directive should be about setting minimum EU standards for the health and safety of pregnant workers, not adding new payroll costs for overburdened companies and national social security systems.
"The figures confirm that the proposals are completely unaffordable, as governments across the EU seek to deal with budget deficits and the aftermath of the recession."
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