French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Thursday urged the European Central Bank (ECB) to accelerate moves to tackle the debt crisis already threatening Europe's core economies.

"We're seeking a compromise. We do not agree on everything at first, but we'll end by agreeing ... There is urgency (for ECB intervention). We will discuss that today in Strasbourg," Juppe said on the local radio France Inter.

"I think and hope that the thinking will evolve and that the ECB should play an essential role to re-establish confidence," the minister added, hours before a key euro leaders meeting.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti were expected to discuss in Strasbourg later on Thursday the adequate ways to save the debt-sickened European region.

Adding to sluggish economic data, political uncertainty and dispute over the ECB role have irked investors who considered that governments across Europe had not acted enough to quell volatility and appease fears.

As its triple A rating came under threat, France called for ECB stronger action while Berlin insisted on governments to put their fiscal houses in order by themselves and blocked the use of the central bank as the lender which can be the last resort.