PARIS (MNI) – In a joint communique Thursday, French and German
leaders said they want negotiations to start immediately with the
private sector to find an agreement to strengthen the “sustainability of
the Greek debt.”
France President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel, who issued a statement after speaking on the telephone, also
said they agreed to meet Saturday evening in Brussels ahead of Sunday’s
Eurozone summit.
The two leaders are calling for a “comprehensive and ambitious”
response to the euro zone crisis, the elements of which will be reviewed
in detail at Sunday’s summit in order to reach a final agreement at a
second meeting “Wednesday at the latest.”
Such a comprehensive response must include the “operational”
implementation of the new operating system of European Financial
Stability Facility.
It must also include a plan to strengthen European banks as well as
the implementation of EMU economic governance and the “strengthening of
the economic integration.”
The French and German leaders also called on Greece to do its part
by “making ambitious commitments” to restore the economic situation in
the context of a new program.
“Based on the troika’s report and the analysis of the
sustainability of the Greek debt, France and Germany ask that
negotiations start immediately with the private sector to find an
agreement to strengthen this sustainability,” the statement said.
–Paris newsroom, +331-42-71-55-40; bwolfson@marketnews.com
** Market News International **
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