The heads of state and government of 17 countries are meeting in Brussels today to discuss the debt crisis in the eurozone. The summit's main task is to decide on a second bailout plan for Greece. The eurozone countries will also address problems in other weak economies like Ireland and Portugal and, to a lesser extent, Spain and Italy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met late on Wednesday in Berlin to agree a "common position" prior to the summit. A French government spokeswoman said the Franco-German pact was "an indispensable precondition to reassure our partners".

Bank involvement
It has not been revealed what agreement was reached but France and Germany have until now been divided about the role of the banks in the rescue plan for Greece. Germany was in favour of involving the banks and France against. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet attended part of the meeting between Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy.

The Dutch parliament supports another bailout for Greece, but only if the banks are involved. Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager told parliament today that Greece will need another 90 billion euros until 2014. 

Confidence
The Brussels meeting is generally regarded as the last chance to restore the financial markets' confidence in the euro. One analyst remarked "the most negative outcome for the euro would be a debt rollover without additional measures".

The euro has been climbing on the exchange markets in anticipation of the summit. European share prices were also up on Thursday morning, particularly banking stock.