AlQa'dah 25, 1432, Oct 23, 2011, SPA -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday defended their effort to contain the eurozone's debt crisis, keeping mum on new approaches they intend to finalize at a special summit on Wednesday, dpa reported. "I cannot let you say that things have failed," Sarkozy told reporters at the end of a preparatory summit with his 26 EU counterparts. "Capitals are facing an unprecedented financial crisis ... We are aware of the responsibility on our shoulders." "Some of the things we are fighting originated decades ago," Merkel added. "Wednesday will not be the last step we will have to take." Sarkozy said that work on the banks was "moving forward well," the options for the bailout fund's leveraging had been "narrowed down" and the Greek talks were "progressing." The two leaders also reiterated a call for a tax on financial transactions, with Sarkozy calling it a "moral, economic and political obligation."
