Sarkozy To Hold Talks In Paris With Merkel On Economic Situation

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will hold talks August 16 with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss key issues like financial stability in the Eurozone and the current instability on financial markets, the French leader’s office said Thursday.

The talks are in line with commitments made by Eurozone nations on July 21 to support members encountering debt and other economic problems and create a special fund and mechanisms to deal with crises.

Stock markets have plunged in Europe following the downgrading of the US economy rating and rumours of imminent Italian and Spanish debt problems and speculation about the rating of the French economy.

On July 20, France and Germany agreed an eleventh-hour compromise to help bail out embattled Greece for the second time this year and also to formulate a number of proposals on governance in the Eurozone and avoid further risks of default by any of the 17 nations that use the Euro.

Apart from the financial and monetary issues, Sarkozy and Merkel will be discussing “the principal international and European questions, starting with the situation in the Middle East,” the president’s office indicated in a statement.