Little expected from Merkozy’s Monday meeting

French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel meet in Paris on Monday under pressure to align their positions on eurozone budget co-ordination, reports Reuters, ahead of an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.  The two leaders will meet over lunch at 1:30pm and are expected to hold a news conference afterwards.  However no substantive announcements are expected, says the FT, because in spite of repeated discussions, Germany and France remain divided. Germany is demanding changes to the European treaties that would concentrate unprecedented power in Brussels to scrutinise national budgets and sanction profligate governments. France wants to limit any treaty changes to the eurozone members, and retain more budget authority in national capitals. Reuters points out that Mr Sarkozy remains under pressure at home on the question of handing more control of national finances over to the EU, with Socialist presidential hopeful Francois Hollande and far-right leader Marine Le Pen both criticising such a move on Sunday.