Merkel, Sarkozy hopeful of euro zone crisis resolution

As the European Union finance ministers outlined a deal on Saturday to recapitalize European banks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said they hoped for a breakthrough in plans to target the debt crisis at a summit this Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Finance ministers agreed on the need to inject 100 billion euros into European banks to protect them from the threat of a Greek debt default after nearly 10 hours of talks, Reuters reports.

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Following the talks, Sarkozy said he believed the finance ministers made progress towards a debt crisis resolution.

"There is some progress," Sarkozy said, on his way into a meeting with Merkel, the Wall Street Journal reports. "From now until Wednesday we must find a solution…a structural solution, an ambitious solution, a definitive solution. There is no other choice."

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Merkel expressed similar sentiments on Saturday, renewing her pledge that European leaders will maintain the single currency, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

"We want to and we must defend the euro — and we will — but not to the extent that we forget what the source of the crisis is," Merkel said, the Chronicle reports.

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