Seven of 27 European Union countries were set to miss a meeting of EU finance ministers in Madrid because of travel disruptions caused by a cloud of ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano, according to dpa. A spokeswoman for the Spanish government, which is hosting the talks, told the German Press Agency dpa that ministers from Malta, Belgium and Ireland could not attend a preliminary meeting on Friday morning of the 16 countries that use the euro. Cristina Gallach said representatives from Denmark, Poland, Britain and Finland were expected to skip talks Friday afternoon and expected to last until Sunday, which are to be enlarged to the finance ministers of all 27 EU member states. The closure of air traffic on Thursday over the British Isles, Scandinavia, Benelux countries, Northern France and Northern France wrong-footed many officials expected in Madrid, including a director general of the EU council, the bloc's secretariat. The EU's economy commissioner, Olli Rehn, had his flight from Brussels cancelled on Thursday, but managed to catch a flight from Paris before airports were shut there too, he told journalists in Madrid. Fellow commissioners for the internal market and tax, Michel Barnier and Algirdas Semeta, joined him on the trip, officials from the European Commissions said in Brussels. The euro area meeting was attended by delegations from France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Cyprus, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. The European Central Bank president, Jean-Claude Trichet, was also present, the Spanish hosts said.
