Vital euro summit being held tonight

THE leaders of the EU countries are meeting tonight – they must come to a decision on how to save the currency

EUROPE’S leaders are to meet tonight for a summit in Brussels at which they must agree on measures to save the euro.

Pundits say it is so important, that if they fail to come to a clear agreement on action the future of the single currency itself could be at stake. Europe could see a return to an “every man for himself” attitude.

Finance Minister François Baroin has refused to even contemplate the idea of a possible failure of negotiations, which he has said is “not even a working hypothesis”. Prime Minister François Fillon said it would “tip Europe into unknown territory”.

The meeting is expected to start at 18.00 and go on through the night. The topics to be discussed include writing off part of Greece’s debt and recapitalisation of banks.

German chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to take the lead, as her country is currently the strongest and most stable.

While France has suggested more borrowing on the markets to help countries in need, her view has been austerity measures are the key.

In France, the need to retain the triple A credit rating has led the government to consider another raft of austerity measures on top of the ones recently voted in. It is expected they would focus on reducing public spending and on further cuts to niches fiscales (ways in which people can invest to reduce tax bills).

It is thought no announcement will be made on such measures until the G20 summit in Cannes is over (November 3 and 4).