France and Germany will propose changing EU treaties to improve governance of the eurozone, says French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mr Sarkozy spoke after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Strasbourg today, their first meeting since Mr Monti took over amid market panic over Italy's huge debts.

Mr Sarkozy said that the three are committed to saving the euro.

France had been reluctant to make any changes to eurozone governance via treaty changes, something Germany had supported.

But Mr Sarkozy said that France and Germany would present "propositions for the modification of treaties" in the coming days.

Mr Sarkozy appeared to temper his calls for the European Central Bank to play a bigger role in solving Europe's debt crisis.

He would not give details on what the treaty changes might be but said they would be ready in time for the next EU leaders summit on December 9.

Today's meeting came amid signs that even Germany and France - the eurozone's two biggest economies - are not immune from the crisis that's already seen three relatively small countries bailed out.

All three leaders said they would do what it takes to stabilise the situation and save the euro.

"We want the euro, we want a strong, stable euro ... we will do everything to defend it," Mrs Merkel said.

France has been reluctant to resort to changes to EU treaties to improve the way the eurozone countries work together and set policies and prevent future crises.

Germany had pushed for such changes, saying voluntary pledges by national governments are no longer enough to boost market confidence.

Mrs Merkel insisted that the proposed changes would "not deal with the European Central Bank", which she stressed was responsible for monetary, not fiscal, policy.

Mr Sarkozy did not push for a greater role at their closing press conference, while Mrs Merkel insisted on the bank's independence.

Many think the ECB is the only institution capable of calming frayed market nerves.

Potentially, the ECB has unlimited financial firepower through its ability to print money. However, Germany finds the idea of monetising debts unappealing.

Mr Monti, meanwhile, reiterated his pledge to balance Italy's budget by 2013 though he sidestepped the question on whether achieving that aim would require more austerity measures, and if so, whether it risked triggering a recession in the eurozone's third largest economy.

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