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EU leaders will soon meet in Brussels for crisis way-out

11 February 2009 15:56 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. EU leaders will hold a special summit on the economic crisis in Brussels on March 1, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek announced on Wednesday, amid fears of growing protectionism.
â€œWe’ll convene here in Brussels on the first of March," AFP quoted Topolanek as telling reporters at a press conference with European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.
"There are issues we need to address shortly," added Topolanek, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
One of those issues is the increasing concern that some member states, notably France, are resorting to protectionist measures to work their economies out of the current crisis.
Topolanek, who has criticised France, said that the leaders intended "to find a balanced position between those who think it is possible to violate the (EU) rules right now and those who do not think so, and I am among the latter."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday announced an eight-billion-euro aid package for French carmakers but made the state-backed loans conditional on keeping jobs and factories in France.
He has irked the Czech Republic by putting pressure on French carmakers to shut down factories in central Europe and move them back to France.
The Czech Republic is home to a number of foreign-owned car plants, including one by France’s PSA Citroen Peugeot, which announced plans on Wednesday to cut 11,000 jobs worldwide in 2009.
"Member states have different approaches," said Topolanek.
"Some member states call for more protectionism others call for adherence to the rules, We should somehow moderate the discussion and find a balance. It is unfortunate to exchange views through the media," he added.
At the same time Czech President Vaclav Klaus, whose country took over the European Union presidency from France in January poked fun on at Sarkozy for aspiring to be Europe’s "permanent chairperson."
Sarkozy gained a reputation as a hyperactive president of the 27-nation bloc in the last half of 2008.