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Obama calls for "strong follow-up" from Europe

28 October 2011 02:13 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday called for "strong follow-up" after European leaders adopted a plan to tackle the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, APA reports.

"There’s no doubt that it’s progress," Obama told reporters at his Oval Office before starting talks with Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas.

"So the key now is to make sure that there is strong follow-up, strong execution of the plans that have been put forward, but I was very pleased to see that the leaders of Europe recognize that it is both in Europe’s interest and the world’s interest that the situation is stabilized," he added.

European leaders announced early Thursday their long-awaited " comprehensive" plan to deal with the euro zone crisis that has threatened global economic stability, which will reduce Greece’s debt, recapitalize European banks, and scale up the euro zone’s bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.

"I think they made significant progress over the last week," Obama said. "The key now is just to make sure that it drives forward in an effective way."

He added: "It will definitely have an impact on us here in the United States. If Europe is weak, if Europe is not growing -- as our largest trading partner -- that’s going to have an impact on our businesses and our ability to create jobs here in the United States."

Earlier in the day, the president pledged continued support for European countries in their efforts to address the crisis.