France, Germany to set up euro crisis working group
Schauble - Moscovici - Photo EU Council
(BERLIN) - France and Germany have decided to set up a bilateral working group on the eurozone debt crisis, the finance ministers of the two countries said Monday after a meeting in Berlin.
"We are committed to the eurozone's continuity ... and its stability. We have therefore decided to examine several questions in a bilateral working group," French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici told reporters.
The group would deal with "implementing decisions made on Greece and Spain but also more structural issues, in terms of banking supervision, banking union and European integration," the minister added.
Paris and Berlin aimed to "intensify their work" ahead of the next summit of EU leaders in Brussels on October 18 and 19 where the eurozone crisis will again take centre stage.
Moscovici's talks with German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble were part of a flurry of diplomatic activity as Europe bids to quell the near three-year debt crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted French President Francois Hollande for talks in Berlin on Thursday, the day before welcoming Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. Hollande and Samaras held talks in Paris on Saturday.
Merkel was due on Wednesday to meet Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Berlin.