The European Union's unity was left foundering on Monday as six mid-weight member states protested against the growing tendency to hold mini-summits of selected members, just days ahead of a full emergency summit on the economic crisis, dpa reported.
"I must admit I'm extremely worried about the EU's institutional chaos. Never in the EU's history has there been a period like this with so many cliques," Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said after a regular meeting with EU counterparts.
Stubb made his comments a day after the bloc's six richest members met in Berlin to discuss a joint approach to the upcoming G20 summit in London on April 2.
"I can't understand what was gained by Sunday's meeting in Berlin. This confusion is not only undermining small EU member states and the (European) commission, but the council (of all 27 EU members) itself," he said.
According to Stubb, Poland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Sweden all joined the complaint, which comes as the EU is struggling to deal with the global economic downturn and is bracing for a string of summits including the G20, and the G8 in July.
Ahead of the G20 meeting, its four regular European members - Britain, France, Germany and Italy - met in Berlin to prepare a common stance for the meeting.
They were joined by Spain and the Netherlands, EU heavyweights who are nonetheless not part of the regular G20.
But smaller EU member states criticized that move, saying that it left them out of the decision-making process.
Sweden's Carl Bildt said that "six to eight" EU foreign ministers, including himself, had expressed concerns over the move.
"What I have a specific problem with is that the G20 has suddenly become the G22 and I don't understand the mathematics behind that," he said.
Asked whether the protest could lead to further action, Bildt answered, "it remains to be seen."
Sunday's emergency summit was initially called by the Czech presidency of the EU to address growing concerns about the spread of protectionist tendencies within the bloc.
France has infuriated Prague by suggesting that its carmakers should move their production back from Central Europe.
Poland has itself called for Central and Eastern European members to meet ahead of Sunday's summit amid concerns that eurozone countries were dictating the agenda on how to counter the economic and financial crisis.
However, Polish diplomats stressed this was not the creation of a clique within the EU.
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