Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said here on Wednesday that Greece remained absolutely adherred on the continuation of the programme that will make the Greek economy viable despite the difficulties it has.

Arriving at the European Union Summit and after attending an extraordinary "mini summit" with the participation of European Council President Herman van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trichet, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Papandreou said:

"We have a battle ahead of us, a battle, a battle for the Greeks, for Greece, for Europe. We hope that the EU as well will create the suitable framework. With the EU's strong commitment there shall be the approval of the programme by the Parliament as well as our commitment."

The "mini summit" was expected to get underway at 6 p.m. (local time or 17.00 GMT) just before the EU Summit meeting. According to sources, the initiative belongs to the European Council president and participation of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is likely.

The meeting focused on the preparation of a text concerning Greece, to be included in the EU summit conclusions.