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captioned by the national captioning institute in a show of unity, the leaders of germany and france have agreed on a new plan to leave the eu in its debt crisis. it involves amending eu treaties for stricter budget rules on member governments. german chancellor angela merkel and french president nicolas sarkozy a share in their determination to restore growth in the year and keep the euro as the stable currency. march. logical course. we're absolutely determined to say the euro is so important that we will go ahead with the

17 eurozone countries and be open to others that want to participate. sanctions. france and germany are also pushing for monthly meeting to coordinate fiscal policy and binding that limits. the european court of justice would ultimately decide whether they have correctly inc. those rules and to international law. the two leaders want preparations for permanent bailout bonds in the european that stability mechanism to bear fruit by late 2012, when your earlier than planned. >> aligning the core economic values in both of our countries and increasing solidarity between germany and france is a historic decision. >> but the european parties will have to follow suit in this week's summit will put the franco-german proposal to test.

>> correspondents were watching this in paris. what is so different about the franco-german plan? >> they came in with a single currency and a was lauded by france and germany. that led us into this crunch. the difference now is that, apparently, they mean it when they say that countries will be punished if they breach the various limits. there will be changes to the treaty that can be put to the member countries, all 17 of them. there will be, in addition, golden rule idea into each of these budgets and it is written as a constitutional requirement not to breach the european figures are limits. if they do, the punishments'

will kick in. it is just a much more disciplined to come redress, a not be allowed to do this anymore. to that extent, the markets will be convinced. >> how likely is it that all of the other eu states will agree to this plan? >> obviously, there will be some resentment the way that it is being steamrolled by the two big players, but in a sense that it is in everyone's interest to surmount the problem and everyone is aware of the urgency, even countries like britain who are very suspicious of being left out in a two- tiered europe. most may be able to leave it there doubts and the urgency required that the move quickly and swallow their doubts. >> we believe in there, but thank you for your assessments

of that, in paris. it turning now to bonn a conference on the future of afghanistan has been taking place. it is overshadowed by the absence of pakistan, seen as key in the region's stability. pakistan has boycotted the conference in protest of a nato airstrike that killed 24 soldiers. despite this, 100 nations, including germany, pledged their political and financial support to afghanistan. >> they are in for the long haul. leaders came to bonn in solidarity for karzai. they will continue to support afghanistan for another decade after nato troops withdraw in 2014. >> there will be a civilian engagement, but we will also continue to do our part in terms of training soldiers and police,

for example. >> karzai says afghanistan needs $5 billion per year in aid. they want to see cobble -- kabul deliver the drug trade, and political reform, and other areas. >> there is much to lose the country, again, becomes a source of terrorism and instability. >> when it comes to improving security and human rights in the country, there is a sense among delegates that the process has been made many times before. >> you work to fight corruption more effectively and further reform institutions to render them more efficient. >> the international community pledged to back those aims ensuring a stable future in afghanistan that will hand drawn support from other countries in the region.

pakistan, a key, boycotted the conference. >> more on afghanistan coming up in the in-depth portion. in little but a surprising news for us here. >> it looks like a vote of no- confidence. according to a report in the financial times, and ratings agenciey standard and poor's sad it may have to downgrade, and germany is on the list. they have put 6 countries on "credit watch negative." they're worried how germany will be impacted. the threat of a downgrade comes as european leaders are trying to put together a package to restore confidence in their economies. yet the market's struck a more positive note on monday. for the first time in more than one month, seeming to be

satisfied. prime minister mario monti issue. it a severe planned sending out there borrowing costs below the key 6% level. >> mario monti give his plan to parliament. >> this is one of those historical moments where it is everyone's duty to be loyal to italy and to concentrate on saving this great nation. >> the planned measures include making italian employees work longer before they retire, at tighter cash curbs to avoid tax evasion, along with an increase in the sales tax as well as a new levy on luxury goods. we are all in this together, the message as and give up is salary. italians are bracing for sacrifices of their own.

>> i hope this resolves something, because the situation is very serious. >> sec rises for everyone, that is what they are saying. i suppose we will have to wait and see. >> a number of measures such as tax breaks designed to promote employment and boost economic activity. some of the plans, especially the pension reforms, expected to face stiff opposition. >> financial officials in europe looking at the markets with more from frankfurt. >> the ambitious austerity package from the monti government inspiring confidence after the speculation that next to the euro rescue fund and the bond purchasing of the european central bank to come a third line of defense could be installed to protect the euro as a currency and the eurozone.

a line of defense including the international monetary fund, the imf, and said it to be reinstalled as the german sovereign bank fund which may help german banks to put bill the new capital requirements installed by the european union. one bank that is said to need the help, potentially, of this rescue bond is commerz. >> here are some of the closing numbers, the blue-chip dax closing higher. 2369 in new york on the dow in late trading. there they are a 12,300. euro at $1.3378. back to you.

>> thank you for that, steve. secretary of state clinton says the u.s. as serious concerns about the russian parliamentary elections speaking on the sidelines of the afghanistan conference in bonn. the independent election monitors suggest there may have been electoral fraud and manipulation of voting lists. russian voters deserve people investigation. the united it russian party of medvedev and vladimir putin convincingly won, but their share of the vote fell to 50% down from 64% four years ago. >> a pulse type election meeting. president dmitry medvedev the think his team and downplayed all talk of fraud. >> united pressure party that the votes it deserves, as of

these elections were honest, fair, and democratic. isupport for the party was down almost 15%, a slap in the face for vladimir putin and. sentiment goes deeper than the results. this shows but for the kremlin a party before the polling stations even opened. observers from the organization of security and cooperation in europe saw similar irregularities. >> there were very serious violations, extra votes a stuffed in the ballot boxes, delays in counting while observers were present, delays until we left. those are the kinds of things that we saw. >> the controversy surrounding the ballot issue is also taking the shine off the united russia

and victory and vladimir putin and's bid next to for the presidency. >> talking about the man who may be able to defeat chance alarm -- chancellor angela merkel. a vote of confidence is adding to the buzz around his political future. the social democrats are gearing up to fight the next general election. they work angela merkel's junior coalition partners, but the newly reelected leaders as their aim is to run the country with the help of the greens. to achieve that, they will need to increase their popularity. >> we are aiming to win, not come in second. a party that is 148 years old cannot be the junior party in a coalition again. we need to lead. that is what we're aiming for. >> he said marco's government

has made them worse and conservatives had given to much power to the markets -- he said merkel's government had made them worse. there were all reelected. that included the general secretary. >> i want us to carry forward this up confidence we have built up over the last two years. we need to improve a couple percentage points more to deliver the next chancellor. >> they have not yet decided who their candidate will be, and hit the secretary is one possibility, but other contenders will be addressing the conference later this week. >> simon young was following all the action reports in berlin. we asked him whether new leaders to be the next german chancellor. >> it is a little too early to say, meghan. social democrats say they want to wait at least another year to

choose who will run as their candidate for chancellor in 2013. the other front-runners in the contest, the former foreign minister who spoke yesterday making an impassioned speech about europe, the euro, and the former finance minister was the other key contender for the job and will be speaking on tuesday to delegates here. >> the sbd and not held back in terms of criticizing angela merkel's crisis management, but what would they do differently? >> they would like to put the focus on regulating the markets and put pressure on the banks, really. they approve of the financial transaction tax, but they think the revenue should be used to stimulate growth in a time of

austerity. the fiscal union that angela merkel has talked about, the stronger oversight regime of governments that overspend about europe, they say that may not be balanced by the social union, a protection for people who are worried about losing their jobs, and in many cases already did lose their jobs. but that is where the social democrats think the emphasis should be. >> sociaimon young from the sbd. >> the short list for the fifa player of the year, the golden ball, down to three men. up against savi and cristiano ronaldo. he beat the other two rivals for the award for the european best player. the golden ball winner will be announced in january. stay tuned for "in?

" coming up after a short break.

>> welcome back. we continue with a look at afghanistan's future as the international community plans to pull their troops out by the end of 2014. even when the last foreign forces exit afghanistan, the country is still set to receive support for years to come up. at the one-day conference in bonn, they outlined things for the decade following the troop withdrawal. countries were trying to convey that they will not be left alone.

they will be responsible for combating taliban militants. unemployment is at a staggering 40% and many people still live in poverty without access to clean drinking water. the international community wants commitments from afghan leaders to improve conditions in the country, especially when it comes to tackling corruption and their growing drug trade. my colleague, melinda, was at the conference monday in bonn she sat down with time and karzai to talk about the challenges the country is facing. >> mr. president, a pleasure to welcome you on behalf of dw- tv. this is a very symbolic date. what has this meeting produced beyond symbolism?

>> symbolism is very important. beyond symbolism, this meeting produced, for afghanistan, a few things. the first thing was that i got, on behalf of the afghan people, an opportunity to thank the people of germany for all that germany has done for afghanistan. for a long time now, but especially the past two years, and also to thank germany for bringing us again to bonn to reflect on the past and think of the future, to think of what we have achieved and what we have not. keeping that in mind, to chart out a future. >> you have reported distressed this is not a donor conference, but without pakistan being here

and without the talent and present, is it less a donor conference without any concrete pledges -- without the taliban present? >> this is a conference to talk about the last 10 years, our achievements, our failures, and we did that very nicely and quite fairly today during the conference. we also charted out and committed it to afghanistan beyond 2014 into 2024 beginning with germany, the united states, other european states, china, india, russia. that is very, very important. now, the absence of pakistan is unfortunate. it would have been good for pakistan to be here today to express their opinion.

>> if you have said that pakistan has not done enough to back efforts to get the taliban into negotiations. what do you expect from pakistan quite concrete lead? >> we encourage, concretely, that they have a significant role to play in the peace process of afghanistan, the growth of afghanistan, it has the longest border with afghanistan, the strongest relationship, religious, linguistic, ethnic, cultural, and we are very strongly connected. we are a fact it also by events in their country. -- we are affected by events there. also because the taliban is mostly in pakistan, they have their headquarters there, their presence, their sanctuaries,

pakistan's role in the peace process is important because they can deliver, if they want to. eclectic you could ask one concreting of pakistan right now, what would it be? >> ps is imperative for all of us. -- peace is imperative. deliver on it. >> has your own government done enough? the german media is reporting today that a u.s. classified report says your government did not do all it could have either to get the taliban on board. >> that is not true. we have done great deeds on this. we have shed blood over this. the head of the peace council was assassinated in the name of peace. we have lost schools in this pursuit. we have done all we have could

and we will do a lot, a lot more going forward. >> along with reconciliation with the taliban, a vital prerequisite for stabilization for your country is good governance. there has been a lot of talk today about governance. what will you do specifically to combat corruption, as you have promised? >> corruption is a serious problem. it permeates the billion to the system. it has two layers, the afghan one and the international one. will continue to fight the afghan one, but we cannot succeed fully unless something is done about the way that corruption occurs in the assistance of afghanistan and the assistance administered, the

contract, the subcontractors, privacy firms, and the other structures that run parallel against the growth of the afghan state structures. >> fighting corruption is one part of good governance -- >> an important part. >> we hear you are the only politician capable of running your country. does good governance mean extending your role beyond 2014? >> it does not mean that. it would not be good for afghanistan or myself to stay beyond 2014. i think afghanistan has a lot of capable people. the country needs a new fresh mind, new energy to take it forward. for me, the best legacy would be to strengthen democracy and respect the constitution. >> i am sure you know german

media reports otherwise saying you do have plans and you have been looking at governmental reform to allow for a longer term. >> not at all. i am among the very few people in the world that is at not interested. >> we heard a lot of pledges today, "we won't forget you," uttered by the secretary general of the united nations and our chancellor. how confident are you that once the troops leave, in an era of economic crisis, that the pledges will be kept? >> there have been kept for the last 10 years and they will be kept as we move forward. i plead trust angela merkel when she says she will lead us all. ban ki moon a good friend of afghanistan. >> you have said that you would be happy to have the german troops stay on for ever.

president hamid, karzai, many thanks. >> with that, we wrap up "the journal." thank you for joining us. stay tuned.