Sarkozy, Merkel To Meet As EU Seeks To End Crisis

French President Nicolas Sarkozy (right) welcomes German Chancellor Angela Merkel prior to a working lunch at the Elysee Palace in Paris last month.

France's Nicolas Sarkozy will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on January 9 for talks that are likely to center on new rules to enforce budget discipline across the European Union.

The French president's office announced the upcoming meeting but gave no further details.

Finance ministers from the EU's 27 members will meet on January 23, before their leaders hold a summit a week later.

They will be under intense pressure to find a definitive solution to the crisis, which threatens the very survival of the single currency, 10 years after it came into circulation.

compiled from agency reports