France, Germany To Propose Changes To EU Treaties

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left), French President Nicolas Sarkozy (center) and Italian Prime minister Mario Monti attend a press conference during a European mini-summit on the debt crisis in Strasbourg, France.

The leaders of France and Germany say they are going to propose changes to European Union treaties to guarantee better economic governance.

The announcement on November 24 came following talks between French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti.

The talks in Strasbourg focused on the eurozone debt crisis amid fears that the current economic contagion was spreading from smaller countries on the periphery of the single-currency area to the bigger economies at the core of the eurozone.

These fears were exacerbated on November 23 when nervous investors shunned a German bond auction, sending the euro lower against the dollar.

Sarkozy said that France, Germany and Italy -- the biggest economies in the 17-member eurozone -- are committed to saving the common euro currency.

It was the first meeting of the French and German leaders with Monti who took over as Italian prime minister last week.

compiled from agency reports