Reacting to the 11th hour deal amongst EU leaders to take serious measures to halt the deterioration of the eurozone crisis, Guy Verhofstadt said:

"I am obviously relieved that after nearly two years of delay and hesitation EU leaders finally realised their backs were against the wall and took the bold and decisive action that I have been calling for several months."

"The 50% haircut to Greek debt is an important step to getting that country back on its feet and sending a signal to the markets that Europe stands solidly behind the members that share the single currency. The additional financial firepower for the EFSF, leveraging capital on international markets also sends a message of solidarity and determination, although the details have yet to be worked out, especially with regards the guarantees. Indeed, the conclusions of the summit do not indicate any figures in this regard."

"Much work remains to be completed to ensure more effective governance in the longer-term, namely the measures to set in place a real economic and fiscal union. The additional competences for EU commissioner Olli Rehn is reassuring and exactly what is necessary to bring more coherence and direction to eurozone management. Further measures that must be agreed by the end of the year should include a permanent European Monetary Fund and a single European bond market that can eliminate the tensions between national bond markets that have so fuelled the present crisis."