EU 'fully trusts' Greece will stick to eurozone commitments

BRUSSELS: European Union leaders on Tuesday said they "fully trust" Greece will stick to commitments to its eurozone partners to reduce spending in return for new rescue funding.

In a statement issued after the surprise announcement of a referendum in Greece, EU president Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said: "We fully trust that Greece will honour the commitments undertaken in relation to the euro area and the international community."

The two said they "took note" of Prime Minister George Papandreou's decision to hold the vote and said they had been in telephone contact with the Greek premier.

They were in contact with members of the 17-nation eurozone and would continue to be in contact in the margins of the G20 meeting this week in Cannes.

The joint statement also said of a deal reached at a summit last Thursday to pull back Greece from the brink that "we are convinced that this agreement is the best for Greece."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011