国际英语新闻：Merkel, Sarkozy present united front ahead of EU summit

BERLIN, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- German and French leaders found a converged voice Friday, one week ahead of a key EU summit, vowing to toughly defend the euro but oppose the ideas of setting up euro zone bonds or expanding current crisis fund.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy held regular consultations in the German southwestern city of Freiburg, preparing a joint stance for next week's EU summit in Brussels, which is set to establish a permanent mechanism for euro zone's bailout actions.

"Let us say one thing very clearly: we are deeply connected with the euro.... We will defend the euro, because the euro is Europe," Sarkozy told reporters after the meeting.

"If the euro fails, Europe fails," Merkel echoed, adding that the euro's significance has gone beyond a simple currency used by 16 nations.

The two leaders said they will spare no efforts on defending the currency, which was overshadowed by market turmoil in recent weeks due to financial woes in Ireland, Portugal and other European countries.

The indebted Ireland received a 85-billion-euro rescue package last month, the second eurozone member seeking EU and IMF's aid after Greece. However, markets feared that other nations with shaky finance, such as Italy and Spain, would ask for help and further ruin the stability of their common currency.