Latex AMS align / Align multiple “=”, too much space

This should work:

\begin{alignat}{2}
  A &= B & &=  C \\
  D &= E & &=  F
\end{alignat}

From ams guide:

A variant environment alignat allows
the horizontal space between equations
to be explicitly specified. This
environment takes one argument, the
number of “equation columns”: count
the maximum number of &s in any row,
add 1 and divide by 2.

Its not exactly intended for what you are trying to do, but since align insists on adding space…
The idea behind align is:

l&=r   &   l&=r \\
l&=r   &   l&=r

One ‘&’ per function, and a ‘&’ between functions.

I would hope there is a better solution though.