The leaders of Germany, France and Italy are meeting in Strasbourg Thursday to discuss the European Central Bank’s role in the eurozone debt crisis.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is hoping to persuade German Chancellor Angela Merkel to soften her opposition to allowing the ECB to act as a lender of last resort for troubled eurozone economies. Ms. Merkel also opposes borrowing through the sale of common eurozone bonds, rather than those issued by each individual country.

Thursday’s financial summit marks new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti’s first meeting with Mr. Sarkozy and Ms. Merkel since he took charge last week. He has promised to enact reforms intended to shore up Italy’s economy.

The summit comes after a sign of investor concern Wednesday about even the strongest European economy. An auction of German 10-year bonds failed to find buyers for more than $2 billion of the $6 billion in bonds offered with 2 percent interest rates.