Angela Merkel rejects calls for increase in eurozone rescue fund

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks during the opening of the Annual Meeting 2012 at the World Economic Forum (Reuters)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected calls for a big increase in the eurozone's rescue fund.

Merkel expressed determination to defeat the weaknesses of the joint euro currency used by 17 nations. But she batted away appeals from the IMF and others for a big jump in the size of the fund created to help weaker eurozone nations struggling with too much government debt.

Merkel said Wednesday "we guarantee the euro, but what we don't want is to promise something we can't hold."

She also suggested the European Union and the United States should pursue a free trade deal.

Merkel spoke during her keynote address at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

AP