France's Sarkozy warns Europe risks disintegration

France's Sarkozy warns Europe risks disintegration

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned that "never has the risk of disintegration been greater" for Europe.

He was addressing a gathering of European leaders of the centre right in Marseille.

EU officials are preparing for a key summit in Brussels, where they will be trying to clinch a deal on how to tackle the eurozone debt crisis.

The talks are described by analysts as "do-or-die" for the eurozone nations.

Mr Sarkozy of France has said that Europe is in much danger.

"Never has Europe been so necessary. Never has it been in so much danger," he said.

"Never have so many countries wanted to join Europe. Never has the risk of a disintegration of Europe been so great. Europe is facing an extraordinarily dangerous situation."

He said the eurozone economies still had a few weeks to decide, but that time was working against them.

"The diagnosis is that we have a few weeks to decide because time is working against us. If we aren't in agreement on this, I fear that we won't be able to agree on anything. That's the analysis."

Germany and France are pushing for new EU treaties, saying stricter fiscal rules should be enshrined there.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has cut its interest rates back to their historic low of 1%, as expected by financial markets.

Earlier, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, who is also in Marseille, urged EU to "do everything" to save the euro ahead of the Brussels summit.

"The entire world is watching. We must do everything" to save the euro, he said, adding: "It is extremely important that we all together, all the EU, show that the euro is irreversible."

Mr Barroso and Mr Sarkozy are attending the annual congress of the centre-right grouping in the European Parliament, the European People's Party (EPP), in the southern French city, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The 10 non-eurozone members of the 27-member EU, including the UK, are concerned they may become isolated if the eurozone nations - driven by Berlin and Paris - decide to move to a new treaty on their own.

Ahead of the summit, all the signs are that it could be a bruising affair, the BBC's European affairs correspondent Chris Morris in Brussels reports.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Rome earlier on Thursday to discuss ways of supporting the eurozone, and how international institutions like the IMF could assist the region "in this delicate phase", Mr Monti said in Rome.

Mr Geithner said "the world can be encouraged by the progress made in the last few weeks" and that the US has a very strong interest in the success of the EU summit.

This is the latest in a series of talks Mr Geithner is holding with eurozone leaders as US concern over the crisis deepens.

 France's Sarkozy warns Europe risks disintegration