Osborne: EU 'must stick with eurozone deal'

The European Union must stick with the emergency bailout package for the crisis-stricken Greek economy, Chancellor George Osborne said today.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou stunned the markets with a surprise announcement last night that he intended to put the deal hammered out by EU leaders in Brussels to a referendum.

Amid fears that a “no” vote could trigger a disorderly default by Greece on its debts, leading to chaos in the markets, Mr Osborne said the global recovery depended on the agreement going through.

“Greece has to make its own decisions about how it takes its own decisions,” he said.

“But I am very clear that we have got to stick with the agreement that was reached by the eurozone nations – and indeed members of the European Union like Britain – last week.

“That is a very important part of recovery, not just in the eurozone, but for the whole world including the United Kingdom, and if we don’t get the eurozone sorted that is going to cause real problems for Britain.”