Berlusconi rejects 'Big Three' proposals

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday branded a summit of the European Union's three biggest states "a mistake" and rejected its proposal for a powerful EU economic commissioner.
"It was a mistake, there is no agreement in Europe about this proposal for an economic supervisor," Berlusconi told reporters following Wednesday's meeting of Europe's "Big Three" countries Germany, France and Britain.
The summit called for urgent EU economic reforms and proposed a powerful new EU commissioner spearhead the bloc's flagging drive to overtake the United States's economic performance.
Berlusconi, echoing concerns of other EU countries and his earlier warnings, said such a move did not bode well for the EU as it prepares to expand to 25 members with the inclusion of 10 mostly former communist countries on May 1.