European leaders are sending "disastrous" signals as they struggle to overcome divisions over how to solve the debt crisis, the euro group president has warned.
As he arrived for talks in Brussels with eurozone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker said: "We are not really showing a properly functioning leadership".
"The external impact is disastrous" for Europe (Chicago Options: ^REURUSD - news) , Mr Juncker added.
The eurozone chief's remarks come hours after eurozone leaders were asked to attend a second urgent meeting next week because France and Germany said they would be unable to finalise a debt crisis plan this weekend.
A summit on Sunday was supposed to deliver a comprehensive plan to get a grip on the debt troubles hanging over the single currency.
But it now looks like Sunday's gathering of leaders will be a meeting to discuss another meeting, set to happen by Wednesday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose wife Carla Bruni gave birth to their daughter on Wednesday, will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday in a further effort to reach a resolution.
The major sticking point is over how to increase the size of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), a 440bn-euro fund so far used to bail out Portugal and Ireland (Xetra: A0Q8L3 - news) .
A German government spokesman said the second meeting would give time for the budgetary committee of the German parliament to consider plans for the euro zone rescue fund.
"The President and the Chancellor affirmed their complete agreement to provide a global, ambitious response to the crisis currently facing the eurozone," a joint statement from Germany and France said.
The delay in taking decisions over a global solution to the crisis comes as eurozone finance ministers gather in Brussels.
They will be holding tough negotiations with Greece, which is pushing for the next payment of emergency bailout money, after its parliament reluctantly passed another austerity bill.
The Greek government meanwhile announced further details of its plans to sell off state assets, starting with its national lottery.
On Saturday, the British Chancellor George Osborne joins the remaining finance ministers of the full 27-nation EU, and the EU heads of state and government meet on Sunday.
