LONDON, Nov 5: Britain insisted on Monday that Europe was united behind a quickening diplomatic offensive in the war against terrorism, but came under fire from some EU partners over its handling of an informal mini-summit.

Originally billed as a cosy chat between London, Paris and Berlin only, the guest list for Sunday evening’s talks soon slid into a hustle for invitations which left some EU members out in the cold.

By the time they sat down, eight European heads of state or government were present plus EU foreign policy supremo Javier Solana.

President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal, who was not invited, said the unity of Europe had been damaged.

“It’s when Europe is needed most that it doesn’t show itself as it should,” he said in the northern city of Porto.

Nevertheless, Blair’s official spokesman hailed the summit a success.

He said the gathering had been “highly successful in helping the process of thinking through both (those) elements of the campaign.”

The prime minister’s spokesman said that despite predictions, “the split in European opinion has not been there.

“Europeans have agreed on a need for humanitarian, diplomatic and military action,” he said, “and on what the outcome should be: a broad-based government in Afghanistan and an end to terrorism.

“So Europe has been united on this.”

There was less unity on the organisation of the London talks.

It was originally to have involved only Blair, President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin of France, and Germany’s Gerhard Schroeder.

First, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi rang up and got himself an invitation. At that point, Downing Street decided to invite Spain, as the fifth “major military contributor” to the US-led coalition.

Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok was furious at being excluded, however, and in a telephone call to Blair was promised a seat at the table too.

Belgium’s Guy Verhofstadt was another last-minute invitee, asked to attend since Belgium holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Solana, too, was invited at the last minute.

A diplomatic source in Brussels said Verhofstadt had nearly turned down the invitation as a protest on behalf of uninvited EU members, and only agreed to go after consulting them.—AFP