Posted by Mark ThompsonThose planning to conduct online foreign exchange trading may be keen to keep an eye on the situation in Europe this week as a meeting between leaders set to take place in Brussels on Friday (December 9th) might have an impact on the future of the 17-nation currency.Credit ratings across the eurozone may be downgraded if action to stabilise the region fails to prove successful, Standard & Poor's has stated.Under the plans, the credit ratings of Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Finland and Netherlands could be cut by one level, while AAA-rated France is at risk of being upped by two.According to Bloomberg, the comments caused the euro to tumble to $1.3367, down 0.3 per cent, in trading at 12:47 local time in Tokyo today.French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel held further talks yesterday and in a statement released after S&P's comments said: "Germany and France are united in their resolve to take all necessary measures together with their European partners and the European institutions to safeguard the stability of the eurozone."Speaking after the meeting, Mr Sarkozy emphasised the importance the leaders move quickly to resolve the situation."What we want ... is to tell the world that in Europe the rule is that we pay back our debts, reduce our deficits, restore growth," he said.Co-chief economist at Societe Generale SA Klaus Baader stated that although both countries have suggested they are in agreement about all issues, this is unlikely to be the case and should therefore be taken "with a pinch of salt".Yesterday, the euro was at $1.3446 in foreign exchange markets, up 0.4 per cent on the previous level. Bloomberg noted that it followed last week's gains of 1.2 per cent versus the US dollar for the multi-nation currency.  For more information on foreign exchange treasury services and risk management, visit our Corporate FX site