The idea of sharing Europe's debt was ruled out by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as she declared eurobonds would not be a reality "as long as I live".

Merkel was addressing a group of MPs from the Free Democrats party, one of her coalition partners, at a private meeting in Berlin.

"I don't see total debt liability as long as I live," she told the gathering, which responded with applause. One person even shouted: "We wish you a long life."

The comments came just two days ahead of the crucial European Union summit in Brussels to discuss how to tackle the eurozone debt crisis.

The idea of banking integration or eurobonds was resisted by Merkel when the leaders of France, Italy and Spain met in Rome on 22 June.

She also called the idea of eurobonds "economically wrong and counterproductive".

Germany, Europe's biggest paymaster, is in favour of strict control mechanisms to accompany lending.

"We set up the EFSF [European Financial Stability Facility] and the ESM [European Stability Mechanism] under such conditions and that's how we are going to continue," Merkel said during the meeting in Rome.

The finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Spain were due to meet in Paris ahead of the summit and a meeting in the capital between Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.

The two key EU countries will attempt to resolve their differences and establish common ground ahead of the EU summit.

The Brussels summit will discuss the idea of banking integration, even though Merkel is opposed to the idea.

However, the leaders are expected to agree on other areas, such as a €130bn ($100bn) growth package in infrastructure project bonds, regional aid funds and European Investment Bank loans.

Germany European Union