European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said Europe has moved closer to solving the eurozone debt crisis, as an agreement was reached in Brussels.
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Mr Barroso said the deal showed the EU could unite in the most difficult of times.
He also announced the appointment of a commissioner dedicated to the euro.
Shares on European markets rose sharply on news of the deal.
After marathon talks in Brussels, European leaders agreed: Banks holding Greek debt would accept a 50% loss, a mechanism to boost the eurozone’s main bailout fund to about 1tn euros (£880bn; $1.4tn) an banks must also raise more capital to protect them against losses resulting from any future government defaults
The agreement is aimed at preventing the crisis spreading to larger eurozone economies like Italy, but the leaders said work still needed to be done. (BBC)
