The euro zone is heading into a make-or-break week for the future of the single currency, with a series of top-level meetings leading up to a critical European Union summit Dec. 8-9. Talks at the summit will focus on efforts to enforce greater fiscal integration among the 17 countries that have adopted the euro, a move that could prompt the European Central Bank to do more to combat the crisis.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will kick off the week with a meeting Monday to discuss proposals on changes to the European Union treaty to enhance fiscal discipline that they will then present to other European leaders. The growing risk of Italy drifting into a funding crisis will also be in the focus of talks among EU leaders next week.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who has repeatedly prodded Europe to do more to end its sovereign debt problems, is also set to meet with European leaders and central bank officials next week.

Meanwhile, the ECB's interest rate decision and a closely watched scheduled press conference also loom large next week, as well as dollar tenders that will likely be scanned for evidence of banking stress after global central banks slashed their cost to help damp down dollar funding pressures.

--Monday, Dec. 5: Europe-wide service-sector PMI data. ECB's weekly bond-purchase data. French T-bill auction. Sarkozy and Merkel meet in Paris for talks on euro. Italy cabinet discusses additional budget measures.

--Tuesday, Dec. 6: Second estimate on the third-quarter report on euro-zone gross domestic product. Irish finance minister discloses 2012 budget that includes EUR3.8 billion more in austerity measures. U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner meeting ECB President Mario Draghi and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann in Frankfurt and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in Berlin.

--Wednesday, Dec. 7: ECB 3-month and 7-day dollar tender. Portuguese T-bill auction. European People's Party meeting in Marseille, France. Greek parliament votes on 2012 budget. Geithner meets Sarkozy and French Finance Minister Francois Baroin in Paris and Spain's Prime Minister-elect Mariano Rajoy Brey in Marseille.

--Thursday, Dec. 8: ECB interest-rate decision, news conference. Second day of European People's Party meeting. EU leaders' informal dinner ahead of summit. Geithner meets Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti in Milan.

--Friday, Dec. 9: EU leaders summit. Televised address by Sarkozy expected before this date. Vienna World Policy conference (through Dec. 11).

--Monday, Dec. 12: Italian T-bill auction. ECB's weekly bond-purchase data. Greece starts talks with "troika" of international creditors--the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank--on new bailout package.

--Tuesday, Dec. 13: First meeting of new Spanish parliament after election. A new prime minister must be elected by Dec. 28. Spanish T-Bill auction. Greek T-bill auction.

--Wednesday, Dec. 14: Italian bond auction. ECB 7-day dollar tender.

--Thursday, Dec. 15: Spanish bond auction.

--Monday, Dec. 19: EUR1.22 billion of Greek debt falls due. ECB's weekly bond-purchase data.

--Tuesday, Dec. 20: Spanish T-bill auction.

--Wednesday, Dec. 21: Portuguese T-bill auction. Swearing in of Mariano Rajoy as Spanish prime minister and disclosure of new cabinet expected around this time. ECB 7-day dollar tender.

--Thursday, Dec. 22: EUR980 million of Greek debt falls due. New Spanish PM to take oath.

--Friday, Dec. 23: Potential first cabinet meeting of new Spanish government and approval of first economic measures, possibly including an emergency budget decree ahead of a formal 2012 budget.

--Wednesday, Dec. 28: Italian T-bill, zero-coupon bond auction.

--Thursday, Dec. 29: EUR5.23 billion of Greek debt falls due. Italian bond auction.

--Friday, Dec. 30: EUR750 million of Greek debt falls due.

--By Saturday, Dec. 31: Ireland's troika of lenders releases its latest quarterly review of the country's bailout.

--Emese Bartha in Frankfurt, David Roman in Madrid, Neelabh Chaturvedi in London, Alkman Granitsas in Athens, Patricia Kowsmann in Lisbon and Eamon Quinn in Dublin contributed to this article.