A summit between France, Germany and Italy - the eurozone's three largest economies - is to take place in Rome on January 20, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Friday, DPA reported.
Sarkozy made the announcement after a meeting in Paris with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, who had first mentioned the possibility of hosting a summit with his French and German counterparts last month.
Italy and France's "ideas on the future of Europe are perfectly matched," and Monti "inspires confidence in other European leaders," Sarkozy told reporters.
"We found ourselves in perfect agreement on the fact that in such a delicate situation for the European Union and the eurozone each country should do all that it should" to cut deficits and pursue economic reforms, Monti added.
Monti's technocratic government is struggling to convince markets of Italy's solvency, despite the hefty austerity package which was pushed through parliament last month, and is lobbying for stronger EU action to put out the eurozone's debt crisis.