EU leaders: We want Greece to stay

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other senior European Union (EU) officials last night called on Greece to shelve plans to quit the single currency and urged it to see out its austerity programme.

Following talks between European Union (EU) leaders on Wednesday night, Merkel said: "We want Greece to stay in the euro, but we insist that Greece sticks to commitments that it has agreed to." European Council President Herman Van Rompuy added: "We want Greece to remain in the euro area while respecting its commitments. "We are fully aware of the significant efforts already made by the Greek citizens. "The eurozone has shown considerable solidarity having already disbursed, together with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) nearly 150bn euros in support of Greece since 2010." ...