Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


    January 09, 2012

Merkel, Sarkozy Call for Quicker Debt Crisis Action

   VOA News
   French President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) and German Chancellor Angela
   Merkel arrive for a news conference following their talks at the
   Chancellery in Berlin January 9, 2012
   Photo: REUTERS
   French President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) and German Chancellor Angela
   Merkel arrive for a news conference following their talks at the
   Chancellery in Berlin January 9, 2012

   German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy
   pushed Monday to speed up Europe's efforts to control the two-year
   governmental debt crisis.
   The German and French leaders met in Berlin, then called for a quick
   conclusion of European Union treaty negotiations to tighten spending
   controls over individual governments. Mr. Sarkozy said the new budget
   limits should be signed by March 1, a month earlier than originally
   planned.
   Ms. Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy also said the 17-nation bloc that uses the
   euro currency should speed up its payments to bolster the eurozone's
   rescue fund to handle possible future financial emergencies. They urged
   Greece and its private creditors to conclude their talks on
   restructuring the country's debts so that the Athens government can
   secure a new $169 billion bailout, its second in two years, and avoid a
   default.
   The German and French leaders also said they want to impose a financial
   transactions tax, either throughout the 27-nation EU, or possibly just
   in the eurozone.
   European leaders, with the exception of Britain, agreed in early
   December to impose new oversight of the spending plans of individual
   governments. But the details have yet to be worked out.
   European leaders have scheduled their next summit for January 30. But
   various European heads of state are planning to meet with each other in
   next three weeks to craft terms of the new controls. International
   Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is meeting Tuesday with Ms.
   Merkel on the crisis.
   The precarious financial state of Greece remains a major concern. Greek
   Prime Minister Lucas Papademos warned last week that his country could
   be forced to default and leave the eurozone if it cannot reach an
   agreement with banks holding Greek debt to sharply cut the amount the
   country owes them. Greece is faced with imposing more unpopular
   austerity measures, while Greek unions have rejected a call by Mr.
   Papademos for wage cuts for workers.
   With the uncertainty over resolution of the debt crisis, the euro has
   slumped markedly over the last several months in comparison to the U.S.
   dollar. The euro traded at more than $1.45 last July, but now has
   dipped below $1.28. It slid most of last week, but stabilized Monday as
   Ms. Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy pushed for quicker action on the debt
   crisis.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.