Spanish PM meets Italian counterpart on aiding banks

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Investors have been especially worried about Spain and Italy - the two eurozone countries that have seen their borrowing costs hit dangerous levels in recent weeks. And the fear is they may soon have to seek a bailout. CCTV reporter Roee Ruttenberg reports from Madrid where the Spanish prime minister met with his Italian counterpart.

A united front. The Italian and Spanish prime ministers meet and urge Europe to speed-up pledges made back in June to directly aid their struggling banks.

It’s a message Monti has been touting in other European capitals - Paris and Helsinki - in recent days.

Mario Monti, Italian PM, said, "The visits that took place this week, that finished in Madrid, had the objective of taking new steps to solidify everything that was agreed upon in the summit in Brussels in June."

For his part, Rajoy - who declined to answer whether Spain would seek a bailout from Europe - thanked Monti for his efforts across the continent.

Investors have been especially worried about Spain and Italy - the two eurozone countries that have seen their borrowing costs hit dangerous levels in recent weeks.

Mariano Rajoy, Spanish PM, said, "We will continue to coordinate and to consult in order to solve the crisis that affects both of our people and the European Union as a whole."

Their renewed efforts may be enough to calm jittery markets, but it’s unclear if the one place that needs to listen - Germany - will. German judges are yet to decide whether Europe can legally sidestep the governments... without gaining any extra power to impose more direct regulations from Brussels. That would effectively require a loss of some sovereignty for EuroZone states, a movement Germany’s Angela Merkel supports, but Rajoy, Monti and their ally in France, President Francois Hollande, reject.

But the timing is crucial for Spain, if not for Italy, as well. New figures released by the Bank of Spain this week showed a step increase in the amount of money leaving the country each... a precursor, some fear, for an eventual full-scale bailout of Spain by Europe since Madrid can’t default on national debts without leaving the EuroZone, or taking the Euro down with it.