German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy give a joint media conference at the European Union summit in Brussels on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives at the Chancellery in Berlin on Monday, Oct. 24, 2011, to brief lawmakers on Sunday's European Union summit on the euro financial crisis. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Thursday after a meeting on the financial crisis. Europe's efforts to solve its debt crisis plunged into disarray after Germany and France could not bridge their differences in time for a summit Sunday. (Associated Press)
** FILE ** German Chancellor Angela Merkel (right) and French President Nicolas Sarkozy discuss the European financial crisis on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011, in Berlin. (Associated Press)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel casts her vote on the eurozone bailout fund at the Bundestag in Berlin on Thursday. German lawmakers approved new powers for the fund in a major step toward tackling the bloc's sprawling sovereign debt crisis. (Associated Press)
ASSOCIATED PRESS German President Christian Wulff and Chancellor Angela Merkel welcome Pope Benedict XVI at Berlin's airport on Thursday, the start of a four-day visit.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures during a joint news conference with the Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen (not pictured) after a meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011. Mrs. Angela Merkel sought to calm market fears that Greece is heading for a chaotic default on its debts as Europe struggles to contain a crippling financial crisis. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
** FILE ** German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for the weekly Cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin on Wednesday, June 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
