EU summit enters second day after agreement on Greece

Greece’s Prime Minister, George Papandreou, has pledged to push through legislation in the Greek parliament for extra tax rises and spending cuts. They are key elements in a new financial aid plan to rescue the debt-stricken country agreed at the EU summit in Brussels.

And German Chancellor, Angela Merkel believes further action is needed to avoid a crisis and strengthen the stability of the euro zone.

“We will do everything to stabilise the Euro as a whole, we will encourage Portugal and Ireland to take action and implement their programs. It was a good message, that Greece came to an agreement about her contributions with the Commission, the ECB and the IMF – the troika,” she said.

In a draft statement the leaders said the approval of the austerity package would pave the way for 12 billion euros’ worth of aid in early July and provide the basis for a second rescue package backed by the EU and the International Monetary Fund. The legislation will be put to the Greek parliament next week.

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