Merkel and Sarkozy want exclusive stability pact

Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are considering a new stability treaty that would be limited to only a few countries in the eurozone, according to a published report. In a story appearing in Sunday's Welt am Sonntag, the two leaders want a pact between their countries and some other nations including Italy. Paris and Berlin will make the proposal in the days ahead of the December 9 EU summit, government sources told the newspaper. The EU's current stability pact requires the 17 countries of the eurozone to limit budget deficits to three percent of gross domestic product and debt to 60 percent of GDP. A German government spokeswoman on Saturday confirmed to AFP that discussions were under way with France but said any proposals would come from European Council president Herman Van Rompuy. Sarkozy has said that the eurozone's top three economies have said they are determined to do everything they can to support the single currency.