英德首脑将商讨债务危机问题

David Cameron is to hold talks with Angela Merkel on the European debt crisis, which is causing sharp differences between the UK and Germany.

大卫·卡梅伦将与安吉拉·默克尔就欧盟债务危机举行会谈，此次债务危机对英国和德国造成的影响明显不同。

David Cameron and Angela Merkel have different visions about Europe's future direction
They have both been pressing for action to stabilise the euro, as Italy and Greece implement¹ austerity measures.

But there are tensions over the idea of so-called Robin² Hood³ financial transactions tax, a move the UK has been resisiting.

And Germany is pressing for closer EU integration⁴（集成，综合） , which the UK opposes.

BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt said Mr Cameron would arrive in Berlin at a time when some of Chancellor⁵ Merkel's MPs have criticised Britain for not supporting Europe in its hour of need. She has admitted there are tensions between them.

Mrs Merkel and the Mr Cameron have very different visions for Europe. She wants the eurozone to be much more closely integrated, while David Cameron is not prepared to see British influence decline if it becomes a two-speed Europe, our correspondent added.

Overshadowing the meeting is likely to be the fear the debt crisis is spreading, in recent days core countries like France have joined Spain and Italy in seeing its borrowing costs rise.

Sovereignty issue

Mrs Merkel's governing party, the CDU, wants the EU's Lisbon Treaty to be amended⁶ to sanction a move towards closer fiscal⁷（会计的，财政的） union within the eurozone and says negotiations⁸ should begin at once.

Senior CDU figures have suggested that if all 27 EU countries cannot agree, the change should be approved by those countries which use the single currency - of which the UK is not a member.

Speaking earlier this week, Mrs Merkel said the EU needed more powers to ensure budget discipline among member states and Germany was willing to give up sovereignty in some areas to facilitate（促进，帮助） this.

In contrast, Mr Cameron is pushing for the UK to take powers back from Brussels in pursuit of what he says is his goal of a more flexible and diverse（不同的） Europe.

In the event of eurozone members moving closer together, the UK has said it wants safeguards that those outside the single currency area will not be disadvantaged in terms of access to the single market and regulations on key sectors⁹ like finance.

But there are concerns Germany is determined¹⁰ to push ahead with a tax on financial transactions, known as the Tobin Tax, in an effort to regulate the markets.