Italy, France, Spain to hold talks in Malta

ROME- Agence France-Presse

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti speaks at a meeting in New York. REUTERS photo

The leaders of Italy, France and Spain are scheduled to meet for three-way talks today to discuss the eurozone debt crisis on the sidelines of a summit in Malta, the Italian prime minister’s office said.

Prime Minister Mario Monti will meet his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy and French President Francois Hollande at 1600 GMT. Monti will then give a short press conference to outline the issues discussed, a spokeswoman said.

Talks come amid fresh market volatility

Their talks come amid fresh volatility on the markets, sparked by doubts over whether Spain will apply for a bailout necessary for ECB help -- as well as continued problems in Greece, the origin of the near three-year euro crisis.

The leaders will be in Malta for an unprecedented summit of Maghreb and European countries aimed at strengthening cross-Mediterranean ties in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings that have toppled several leaders.

The so-called Five-Plus-Five forum takes place on Friday and Saturday and brings together leaders from France, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain with those from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.