Germany will confront an increasingly united bloc of euro-area nations demanding more ambitious policies to fight the financial crisis this week, as European leaders prepare for a summit setting the course for their currency's preservation or ultimate demise.

As concern mounts over their banking systems and finances, Spanish and Italian leaders have added their voices to those calling for more decisive action, a counterpoint to Germany's more incremental approach to solving the 2 1/2-year-old crisis. European Union leaders will attend pre-summit meetings as they work to narrow differences before the June 28-29 gathering in Brussels.

"We are too close to the edge of the cliff for comfort, and the time to make big changes is awfully short," Erik Nielsen, chief economist at UniCredit SpA in London, wrote in a note to clients yesterday.