The leaders of Germany and France threw their political support yesterday behind ECB chief Mario Draghi’s vow to do “everything” to protect the eurozone, after another brutal week of market turmoil.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said in a joint statement released in Berlin and Paris after a telephone talk that they were determined to keep the single curr-ency area intact.

“Germany and France are deeply committed to the integrity of the eurozone. They are committed to do everything to protect the eurozone,” they said.

The statement borrowed from remarks Mr Draghi made in London on Thursday, in which he vowed to “do whatever it takes to preserve the euro”, delighting long-suffering financial markets and giving the beleaguered euro a lift.

Mrs Merkel and Mr Hollande, leaders of the two biggest economic powers in the eurozone, indicated that their solidarity must be matched with serious economic and fiscal reform efforts.

“In order to achieve this, the (eurozone) member states and European institutions must live up to their respective responsibilities,” they wrote.

“Both countries stress the necessity to implement quickly the conclusions of the European Council” in late June.

The accord last month paved the way for the eurozone’s future €500-billion bailout fund to recapitalise ailing banks directly, without adding to the national debts of struggling countries.

Mr Hollande said on Wednesday he wanted a “rapid and firm implementation” of the reforms agreed at the summit, adding that EU leaders needed to match the speed with which markets were reacting to the eurozone’s debt woes.

Spanish borrowing costs soared above seven per cent this week – the level at which Ireland, Portugal and Greece were forced into bailouts – and official figures released yesterday showed its unemployment rate rose in the second quarter to nearly 25 per cent.