German Chancellor¹ Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have hammered out a common position on the euro debt crisis.

德国总理安吉拉·默克尔与法国总统尼古拉·萨科奇在欧元区债务危机问题上达成一致见解。

A statement by the French president's office said agreement had been reached after seven hours of talks in Berlin.

It comes ahead of a crunch² meeting of eurozone leaders to resolve the Greek debt crisis and prevent further contagion³（传染病，蔓延） to other eurozone economies.

Details of the deal have not yet been released.

Jean-Claude Trichet, the European Central Bank president, was also brought into the discussions, according to a spokesman for Mrs Merkel.

Germany had previously⁴ insisted that Greece's lenders should be forced to take losses as part of any further rescue deal for Athens.

But this had been opposed by France and the ECB, who fear it could spark a Europe-wide banking⁵ crisis, push Spain and possibly Italy into trouble, and even jeopardise（危害） the solvency⁶ of the ECB itself.

'Very serious'

Policymakers are set to discuss a range of measures at the meeting later on Thursday, including a new loan package to Greece and the role of private investors⁷ in any debt restructuring.

Reports suggest a new tax on banks will also be debated.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel has cautioned against over optimism.

Greece received its first aid package in May last year, but the debt crisis continues to undermine confidence in global financial markets, with some commentators⁸ suggesting it threatens the future of the euro itself.

Politicians and investors are calling for decisive action to help bring the crisis to an end.

"Nobody should be under any illusion; the situation is very serious," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Wednesday.

"It requires a response. Otherwise, the negative consequences will be felt in all corners of Europe and beyond."

The Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, has said that the crisis in the eurozone posed the most serious and immediate⁹ risk to the UK's financial system.

President Barack Obama has also weighed in, calling Mrs Merkel on Tuesday night to stress the importance of tackling the debt crisis in sustaining the global economic recovery.

The International Monetary¹⁰ Fund has also called on European leaders to take swift and decisive action.

Delaying such action further would be "very costly¹¹" for the world economy, it said.