Jose Manuel Barroso confident of solution to eurozone problems

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said he is confident of a solution to the eurozone crisis as he arrived for emergency talks in Brussels.

The summit to ensure the stability of the single currency got underway hours after France and Germany agreed a joint position.

In a brief statement Mr Barroso said: "I'm sure we'll find a solution.

"A good solution for Greece and for all the Euro area members."

Mr Barroso had earlier urged eurozone leaders to take decisive action and do what it takes to ensure the stability of the single currency.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel held talks for seven hours in Berlin before today's summit, Mr Sarkozy's office said.

In a statement, his office said the two leaders "reached agreement on a common Franco-German position", without saying what the position was.

Arriving at the summit Irish premier Enda Kenny said Ireland was hoping for decisions that would bring certainty and decisiveness to the stability of the euro.

"Obviously we're looking for the flexibility that Ireland spoke about in terms of this fund (European Facility Stability Fund), interest rates, flexibility and maturity base, the issues that Ireland have put on the table here for the last number of months," Mr Kenny said.

"And as I said last week, Europe has come together here to make decisions that will put an end to this contagion, an end to uncertainty and we hope that the start of that process can begin today with whatever decisions we arrive at."

Mr Kenny, keen to negotiate a lower interest rate on Ireland's crippling repayments, has called for tough decisions to be taken to stop the Greek debt crisis spreading to Spain and Italy - both in the queue for possible bailout help following massive cash injections to Ireland and Portugal.

French finance minister Francois Baroin said the summit had to take decisions on a second bailout for Greece to makes its debt "more bearable".

The problem was German insistence that private investors should extend deadlines for loan repayments as part of any new 120 billion euro (105 billion) bailout to be triggered next year.

The European Central Bank says that extending credit lines would amount to a Greek default, prompting more market jitters about the single currency's long-term prospects.

Mr Barroso has said the minimum result from the summit had to be measures to ensure the sustainability of Greek finances, including private sector involvement, plus moves to step up European banking liquidity and a possible top-up of current eurozone bailout funds.

The latest summit had been demanded by France but opposed by Germany and other countries, concerned that more inconclusive talks would only worsen the market response.

Mrs Merkel had said she would only attend if a positive result was assured.

But as the leaders of the eurozone countries prepared to meet, there had been little sign of full agreement on a second bailout package for Greece - this time to include a financial burden on private bondholders as well as taxpayers in the event of default.