The Franco-German push for a new treaty may have received an indirect, if unpleasant, push when credit rating agency Standard & Poor's put the entire Eurozone on negative creditwatch Monday. The threat of a downgrade included triple-A-rated France and Germany, sparking further alarm that borrowing costs could rise throughout the zone and make cutting debt levels even harder.
In addition to warning about high debt, the agency cited investor impatience with the "open and prolonged dispute among European policymakers" who have so far failed to come up with the necessary policy tonic for the crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy held talks at the Elysee Palace in Paris. European Union nations will meet this week, in what is seen as a last-ditch chance to keep the euro from being blown apart by the debt crisis. (Remy de la Mauvinere / Associated Press /December 5, 2011)
