Berlusconi launches attack on 'gang of three' alliance

A fierce backlash against a new alliance between the UK, France and Germany surfaced yesterday ahead of today's three-way summit between the British, French and German leaders in Berlin.

On the eve of the gathering, Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, declared his fervent opposition to any move by Europe's big three nations to join forces.

"Europe doesn't need any directorate, it's just a big mess," he said during a press conference in Rome. "This is my opinion, which is completely shared by other European countries, with the exception of the three countries involved."

Italy's Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, also issued a warning to Tony Blair, Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, and Jacques Chirac, the French President, saying their meeting could damage the cause of European integration.

Mr Berlusconi, Spain's Jose Maria Aznar, Poland's Leszek Miller, the Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende, his Portuguese counterpart Jose-Manuel Durao Barroso, and the Estonian premier Juhan Parts, have signed a letter sent to Ireland's EU presidency criticising positions taken by France, Germany and the UK.

Today's "gang of three" summit in Berlin will discuss the selection of the next European Commission president, and efforts to break the deadlock over the planned constitution for the EU. It will also call for a new impetus to plans to boost economic growth, and is expected to suggest that a vice-president of the next commission should co- ordinate structural reform in EU economies.

But the letter from the six premiers pre-empts the summit by demanding efforts to step up economic reform. It describes the euro's rulebook as "an essential element of economic governance in our economic and monetary union", and says that its rules "must be applied consistently and in a non-discriminatory basis [sic]".

That is clear criticism of France and Germany which, with British backing, got the rules suspended when it became clear that Paris and Berlin will breach the budget deficit ceiling of 3 per cent of gross domestic product for the third year running.

What will concern Mr Blair is that all bar one of the six signatories have been staunch allies of the UK's drive to shape the so-called Lisbon agenda on economic reform. Critics in the UK of the British policy argue that Mr Blair may sacrifice hard-won relationships with more reliable allies.

The event - the second of its kind in nine months - has raised fears among several EU countries that a new "triumvirate" will dominate an enlarged EU. Sceptical countries want evidence that London, Paris and Berlin will push for positive initiatives rather than their national interests.

Last night Pat Cox, president of the European Parliament, argued: "I would make a very strong plea for leaders who can provide some motor force and acceleration to the European process - at a moment when it has not lived through its finest hours - to do so."