Balls: There are only so many times we can have summits that present a united front

Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls responds to the news that the eurozone leaders have established a new financial rescue package in the Independent newspaper:

"Europe has been facing a new and unfamiliar crisis – a political deadlock not within one government but between nation states locked together in the euro.

"If the euro is to survive, markets need to know and believe that in return for a decisive plan to restore growth and a balanced plan for tough action on deficits, the ECB will, with political support, stand behind the sovereign debts of member states.

"While this is in doubt, the whole project will remain in doubt – undermining market confidence and growth and leaving banks vulnerable. There are only so many times we can have summits that present a united front, promise a comprehensive solution but disappoint on the detail."