The Czech presidency of the European Union wants the bloc's leaders to hold emergency talks on the economic crisis by the end of this month, officials in Brussels said Monday, dpa reported.
European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek was "positively considering the idea of hosting an informal meeting of heads of state and government of the whole of the EU."
Such a meeting, to be held in either Brussels or Prague during the final week of February, would prepare the ground for the bloc's regular spring council, which is traditionally devoted to economic issues and which this year takes place on March 19-20.
Laitenberger said the possibility of organizing an extraordinary summit had been discussed in a morning telephone conversation between Topolanek and the commission's president, Jose Manuel Barroso.
An announcement on the exact date and location is likely to be made on Wednesday, after a meeting in Brussels between Topolanek and the EU executive.
The discussions on whether to hold an emergency meeting were taking place against the backdrop of a deepening recession, a widening rift among governments on what to do about it, and concerns that member states may be tempted to raise barriers in order to protect domestic jobs.
Last week, the former president of the EU, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, infuriated his successor by suggesting that carmakers Citroen and Peugeot should relocated their Czech factories to France.
Topolanek said such a position was incomprehensible.
"Attempts to introduce such protectionism and defences during the financial crisis could threaten to slow any revival of the European economy," Topolanek said on Friday.
Laitenberger on Monday reiterated the commission's view that the EU's internal market is part of the solution, not part of the problem.
"The internal market makes us stronger," Laitenberger said.
France, which chaired a very busy presidency during the second half of last year, has also irritated Czech diplomats by suggesting that the current EU presidency has been too "passive" in dealing with the economic crisis.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon was due to visit Brussels later this week while Barroso planned to make an unusual appearance at Monday evening's regular meeting of eurogroup finance ministers.