German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde will meet on Tuesday at 8 p.m local time (1900 GMT) in Berlin, Merkel's spokesman said on Monday. "It is an informal meeting, an informal exchange of views," spokesman Steffen Seibert said, adding that the pair would hold a news conference after their talks. The meeting is one of a series that Merkel is holding at the start of the new year as Europe tries to get a grip on its two-year old sovereign debt crisis. She is meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin later on Monday and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
