PM Fischer reserved about EU summit outcome

The Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, has taken a reserved stand to the outcome of Thursday’s EU summit dealing with assistance to debt-stricken Greece. Shortly after the summit, Mr Fischer told journalists that EU leaders stopped short of making a specific commitment to Greece and even failed to debate concrete forms of aid. The Czech prime minister said the main purpose of the joint declaration, adopted by the summit, was to settle the world’s financial markets. Ahead of the summit, however, Mr Fischer said the EU was bound to help Greece one way or another.

Meanwhile, finance ministers of the eurozone’s member states agreed in Brussels on Thursday that some EU members might buy Greek bonds or provide direct loans on bilateral basis, provided Greece takes radical steps to cut public spending.