EU summit concludes with political support for Greece

BRUSSELS, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- The first summit of the European Union (EU) called by the bloc's first full-time President Herman Van Rompuy concluded here on Thursday afternoon, showing clear political support for debt-laden Greece.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Front L), Greek Prime Minister Georgios  Papandreou (C) and French President Nicolas Sarkozy (Front R) leave the  EU Council building after a meeting in Brussels, capital of Belgium, Feb.  11, 2010. An informal summit of European Union leaders on Thursday,  originally called to work on a new economic strategy for the next decade.  (Xinhua/Thierry Monasse)

At a press conference after the summit, Van Rompuy said that "a consensus emerged" among the member states on the Greek fiscal crisis to show solidarity of the EU.

Jose Barroso, head of the European Commission, said at the press conference that the Greek crisis would be dealt with in a dual approach, which means the EU member states show its solidarity by taking "determined and coordinated action if needed" and Greek bears its responsibility to carry out the stability program it submitted in mid-January to reduce its budget deficit.

According to an invitation letter from Van Rompuy, the summit was supposed to focus on drawing an economic blueprint for the 27- member bloc for the next ten years. However, the crisis concerning Greece's budget deficit overshadowed the discussion on the long- term economic blueprint for 2020.

Left to right: EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the European Council President Herman Van Rompuy talk in the EU Council building after a meeting in Brussels, capital of Belgium, Feb. 11, 2010. (Xinhua/Thierry Monasse)

At the press conference, Van Rompuy said he called the informal summit to discuss the EU 2020 strategy, but "events have decided otherwise," implying Greece's fiscal crisis has dominated the summit instead.

But Van Rompuy said the first summit convened by him was " successful" and "productive," adding that the European Council is "very ambitious to take the lead" in forming the long-term strategy in future talks.