The date and place of the informal meeting of members of the European Council are confirmed: 30 January in Brussels, reads a statement by Council President Herman Van Rompuy. It had been rumoured that the date would be changed due to a general strike in Belgium scheduled the same day.

The summit – which no one dares describe as a “last chance” meeting given the half-measures that have resulted from recent gatherings – will of course focus on the eurozone debt crisis. Leaders will examine the political questions raised by the draft fiscal pact, ahead of the formal European Council, on 1 March, and try to work out solutions to immediate problems: the danger of a default by Greece and the question of the resources of the European Financial Stability Facility, brought into the limelight with Standard & Poor’s decisions.

As usual, it will be preceded by summits between certain member states. On 16 January, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was in Madrid for a meeting with Spain’s Premier Mariano Rajoy. The next day, Rajoy will meet van Rompuy before visiting the German chancellor, on 26 January in Berlin. Meanwhile, the mini-summit bringing together Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, Angela Merkel and Sarkozy, set for 19 January in Rome, is expected to be postponed.