Brussels, 06/11/2003 (Agence Europe) - At the request of several countries worried about being side-tracked, the Council on Thursday debated the meeting of 20 October in La Baule between French, Spanish, Italian, British and German Interior Ministers (EUROPE 21 October p 11). Luxembourg Minister, Luc Frieden announced to several journalists before this debate that he was worried that the five large countries appeared to want to make decisions among themselves. Nicolas Sarkozy from France had said that he wanted to "go further and faster" in the areas that are already being discussed in the Fifteen. Giussepe Pisanu from Italy President of the Council said that he wanted, while insisting at the Council to the press on the fact that this involved a "purely informal meeting", useful for pushing forward discussion but that "decisions are taken exclusively in their institutional bodies". Commissioner Vitorino, who was not invited to La Baule, did not want to say what he thought about it (we'll try our best to minimise the importance). Luc Frieden declared that he was confident that this discussion at the Council would act as a "safeguard" in preventing the five countries withdrawing solidarity from the others.