European Union leaders will be meeting once again in Brussels for another round of crucial talks aimed at resolving the euro crisis which has gripped the eurozone for the past months.

Expectations are high, particularly for a eurozone summit among the 17 member states, to be held immediately after the first summit on Sunday afternoon.

Malta, to be represented by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, is already contributing to the crisis to the tune of €780 million in loans to Greece and guarantees to the eurozone’s bailout fund.

Although the summit is expected to take even more financial decisions, such as a recapitalisation of Europe’s banking system and the possible leverage of the €440 billion European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to €2 trillion, Malta is not expected to be asked for further funds.

The situation in Greece together with recent downgrades of other eurozone economies particularly Italy and Spain will once again be topping the agenda just hours before the reopening of the financial markets.

The EU’s leaders are set to discuss “technical changes” to Greece’s second €159 billion bailout package based on a debt sustainability report currently being finalised by the European Commission. The report is considered crucial to get the International Monetary Fund on board with the loan and to judge the size of the private sector’s contribution to the bailout, which was estimated at up to €50 billion when it was first agreed last July.

EU sources yesterday said that leaders will now be discussing new measures with a possible larger writedown for holders of Greek sovereign debt – a 21 per cent haircut was agreed in July – because of the rising costs of raising collateral to get banks and insurers on board with the plan.

At the same time, Greece is still waiting on an €8 billion tranche of aid from its first €110 billion bailout package, which is due to be handed over in mid-November after a troika of EU and IMF officials waved through the payout, despite the government missing its 2011 deficit reduction target. A final decision by EU leaders of this trance, of which Malta will be contributing €5 million, is also expected.

For France, a leading eurozone member, this Sunday’s summit has become more urgent as its banks are coming under market pressure to prove they can cope with further debt writedowns.

Rating agency Moody’s said on Tuesday that the government’s ‘triple A’ rating could be at risk as it is forced to bail out other eurozone nations and support its own banks.

“France may face a number of challenges in the coming months – for example, the possible need to provide additional support to other European sovereigns or to its own banking system, which could give rise to significant new contingent liabilities for the government’s balance sheet,” the agency said.

The warning comes just weeks after the agency downgraded two of France’s largest banks, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale.

Despite hopes that these two summits will put the worst crisis hitting the eurozone since its inception on the backburner, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel dampened the high hopes expected stating that it “will not be possible to solve the crisis in just a day.”

However, many in Brussels are still hopeful that something significant will come out of these two summits, possibly at the 11th hour.