Plan to save euro

French and German leaders pitch proposal they hope will help.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have sent a letter outlining their proposals to save the euro and want to punish countries that spend too much money.
It says governments that allow their deficits to exceed 3% of their GDP should be automatically sanctioned.
It also says countries that continue to flout spending rules will face a series of increasingly strict sanctions.
Meanwhile, final preparations are being made for what leaders are calling a make or break summit on the fate of the European Union.
Tomorrow leaders of the 17 EU countries will debate what to do to keep their common currency afloat.
Greece’s near-bankruptcy rattled the currency and analysts say a similar crisis in Italy has brought the euro to a breaking point.