Finance ministers are gathering in Copenhagen to discuss increasing the size of the eurozone's rescue funds.
Germany has been resistant to calls to increase the size of the funds.
A draft statement on Thursday said the joint lending power of the could be increased from 500bn to 700bn euros (£585bn; $935bn).
The funds were set up to bail out beleaguered eurozone governments, and to restore market confidence in the finances of Italy and Spain.
As well as Germany, Finland and the Netherlands are also thought to favour only a modest increase.
Earlier this week the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - a forum of the world's rich democratic nations - recommended increasing the bailout funds to 1tn euros, or about 11% of the eurozone's GDP.
Many eurozone members, including France, are thought to be in favour of a big increase in order to ensure that larger eurozone countries are not drawn back into the crisis.
Concerns have been raised over Spain, which has failed to cut its borrowing as much as promised, and which faces violent protests against labour market reforms intended to boost its flagging economy.
"I am confident of our capacity to reach an agreement, we will reach a consensus," said French Finance Minister Francois Baroin as he arrived for the talks.
"The right size of the fund depends on how your approach the issue."
The finance ministers are also expected to discuss making the eurozone's second bailout fund - the European Stabilisation Mechanism (ESM) - available more quickly.
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The existing fund - the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) - has already been used to rescue the Republic of Ireland and Portugal, and is committed to providing part of Greece's second bailout.
It will have only 200bn euros in remaining lending capacity from the middle of this year, which the draft statement said would only be used for new rescues "in exceptional circumstances".
The ESM was originally intended to be a permanent replacement for the EFSF, but now the two are expected to overlap from the middle of this year.
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