(Adds Almunia warning, paragraphs 6-7, edits)
By Mark John
BRUSSELS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The European Union announced
plans on Wednesday to hold no fewer than three economic summits
to iron out national differences that threaten to hamper its
efforts at tackling the recession.
The move came after France and others questioned the ability
of the Czech Republic -- the small, ex-communist state holding
the EU's rotating presidency -- to chart a path out of the worst
financial debacle in the bloc's 50-year history.
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek vowed to end a public
row over protectionism with French President Nicolas Sarkozy
that has added to the image of European disunity, but said
differences among capitals were inevitable.
"We have to realise that the individual member states have
different approaches to solving this issue," Topolanek told a
news conference in Brussels after talks with European Commission
President Jose Manuel Barroso.
"My goal is to hold a political debate at the highest level
in order to strengthen EU cooperation in countering the crisis."
Separately, the EU Commissioner for monetary affairs issued
one the starkest warnings yet that time was running out to get
financial systems underpinning the economy functioning again.
"If financial markets will not function in a more normal way
during the next months, the efficiency of fiscal stimuli and
monetary policy decisions will be seriously affected," Joaquin
Almunia told a European Parliament debate.
Aside from a long-scheduled March 19-20 economic summit in
Brussels, Topolanek called a special one-day meeting of EU
leaders on March 1 to discuss efforts to stabilise the financial
sector, and a further summit in May to address employment.
These are on top of the myriad of meetings in preparation
for summits of the G8 rich nations and the G20.
"MY FRIEND SARKOZY"
The 27-nation bloc wants to present a united front at the
April G20 summit in London but splits exist between the richer,
western states that can afford to spend their way out of the
slowdown and those, often eastern states, who cannot.
Ideological differences on the role of the state in helping
industry have also prompted cross-border niggles over plans such
as those announced by Sarkozy on Monday to provide 6 billion
euros ($7.8 billion) of state loans to French car makers.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon goes to Brussels on Thursday
to defend the French loan package -- in return for which Renault
and PSA Peugeot-Citroen have vowed not to sack French workers --
but the EU's antitrust body has cited possible legal concerns.
EU leaders agreed in December to avoid unilateral stimulus
moves that could have "beggar-thy-neighbour" fall-out on other
European countries, but the deepening recession has triggered
growing domestic pressure for measures to protect national jobs.
Finance ministers agreed on Tuesday to coordinate any
measures to deal with the huge levels of toxic assets that have
drained confidence in the financial system, but left knotty
issues such as how to value those assets for a later date.
Divisions also persist on a Commission plan to spend 5
billion euros of unused EU funds on energy and telecoms
infrastructure, and on how quickly over-stretched national
budgets should be brought back towards balance.
Sarkozy singularly failed in a French television interview
last week to defend the Czechs' performance as EU president --
the role he handed over in January -- saying merely that "they
are doing what they can".
Czech diplomats complain at what they say is French sniping
at their EU stewardship, and tensions spilled into the open this
week as Topolanek hit out at Sarkozy's comments in the interview
questioning car makers' locating in the Czech Republic.
"I will not continue this media exchange with my friend
Sarkozy, which is very damaging for both of us," he said.
"It's better to call each other up."
(Additional reporting by Marcin Grajewski and Ingrid Melander
in Brussels, Crispian Balmer in Paris)
(Editing by Richard Balmforth)
