European Union officials are preparing for a key summit in Brussels, where they will be trying to clinch a deal on how to tackle the eurozone debt crisis. The two-day talks have been described by some analysts as do-or-die for the 17 eurozone nations.
Germany and France are pushing for new EU treaties, saying stricter fiscal rules should be enshrined there. But European Council President Herman Van Rompuy is offering a plan which only requires amending the treaties.
The 10 non-eurozone members of the 27-member EU, including Britain, are concerned they may become isolated if the eurozone nations - driven by Berlin and Paris - decide to move to a new treaty on their own. Ahead of the summit, all the signs are that it could be a bruising affair, the BBC's European affairs correspondent Chris Morris in Brussels reports.
On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama discussed the eurozone crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a telephone call. The White House said both leaders agreed that any solution must be lasting and credible.On Thursday morning, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is due to meet new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Rome.
This is the latest in a series of talks Mr Geithner is holding with eurozone leaders as American concerns over the crisis deepens. The key proposal on the agenda of the gathering in the Belgian capital later on Thursday is how to enforce budgetary discipline with automatic penalties for those eurozone nations that overspend.