Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has assured the European Parliament that he would deliver sweeping reform proposals this week to secure a bailout funding deal that can keep Greece in the eurozone.
Greeted with cheers to a packed chamber in Strasbourg, from fellow leftists but also from anti-EU members on the far-right, the 40-year-old premier said he was determined to fix years of bad government as well as reverse the increasing inequalities caused by five years of creditor-imposed austerity.
"Let me assure the house that, quite apart from the crisis, we will continue with our reform undertakings," Mr Tsipras said after flying in from Brussels where eurozone leaders handed him a final deadline of Sunday to agree to terms for a new bailout.
''We demand an agreement with our neighbours," he said. "But one which gives us a sign that we are on a long-lasting basis exiting from the crisis, which will demonstrate that there's light at the end of the tunnel ... Our prime objective must be to combat unemployment and to encourage entrepreneurship."
He spoke after Donald Tusk, the former Polish prime minister who chairs EU summits, told parliament: "The stark reality is that we have only four days left to find an ultimate agreement. Until now I've avoided talking about deadlines but I have to say it loud and clear that the final deadline ends this week."
Meanwhile, Greece lodged a formal request for a bailout loan with the eurozone's special support fund, a spokesman for the European Stability Mechanism said.
The Eurogroup of finance ministers is due to consider the application, which is formally addressed to its chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem, in a conference call today.
Following Mr Tsipras's 12-minute speech, party leaders took the floor in turn in a chamber where some Eurosceptics hailed Mr Tsipras's victory in a referendum by propping up cards reading "OXI" - "No" in Greek - the Greek electorate's response to the terms previously proposed by creditors for a bailout.
Manfred Weber, the German leader of the biggest group, the centre-right EPP, drew a mix of boos and cheers with an attack on the Greek government's failure since its election five months ago to propose reforms.
He accused Mr Tsipras of misleading Greek voters, destroying trust in Europe and insulting other leaders.
"To the far-left and the far-right you have a lot of applause," Mr Weber told him. "The extremists of Europe are applauding you."
The centrist leader in parliament, former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, won his own applause by urging Mr Tsipras to make good on promises of sweeping away privileges of vested interests that have hobbled the Greek economy.
Mr Tsipras appeared to be jotting notes as Mr Verhofstadt ran through a list that included privatising banks, liberalising access to some professions and ending special treatments for shipping magnates, the military and the Orthodox Church.
"The choice you have is very simple. How do you want to be remembered?" Mr Verhofstadt said, noting the vast majority of Greeks wanted to keep the euro.
"As an electoral accident who made his people poorer in his country? Or do you want to be remembered, Mr Tsipras, as a real revolutionary reformer."
Britain's Nigel Farage of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, said, however, that the Greek crisis simply confirmed a terminal split between the economies of northern and southern Europe that made the euro and the European Union unworkable.
"The European project is actually beginning to die," Mr Farage said, addressing Mr Tsipras, who showed no emotion.
"Frankly, if you've got the courage, you should lead the Greek people out of the eurozone with your head held high."
Earlier Mr Tsipras said he is "confident" of meeting an end-of-the-week deadline set by eurozone leaders to reach a bailout deal or risk leaving the euro.
"I am confident that in the next two or three days we will be able to meet the obligations in the best interests of Greece and also the eurozone," Mr Tsipras said in his speech to the European Parliament.
He told the parliament that his government will continue with reform efforts and said that Sunday's referendum gave him a mandate for a socially just and economically sustainable solution to crisis.
The Greek public debt must be made sustainable, he said. He said all sides must prevent a "divided Europe".
Meanwhile, the head of the French central bank has warned Greece could descend into "chaos" unless a deal is found soon.
"The Greek economy is on the edge of catastrophe. A deal absolutely must be found on Sunday because it will be too late after that and the consequences will be serious", Christian Noyer told French radio, adding that "there could be riots...and chaos in the country".
EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has said an agreement with Greece is possible but it is up to its government to make credible proposals to its fellow eurozone members.
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