'Greece will remain in eurozone' - Barroso

During his annual address to the European parliament, Barroso countered persistent talk of Athens leaving the 17-nation eurozone, saying: "Greece is, and will remain, a member of the euro area."

But "Greece must implement its commitments in full and on time," he stressed, pledging also that Europe would not let Athens down.

"In turn, the other Euro area members have pledged to support Greece and each other," he said.

Barroso called for a financial transactions tax, saying the financial services sector must "make a contribution".

"Today the Commission adopted a proposal for the Financial Transaction Tax. Today I am putting before you a very important legislative text," Barroso said.

He said that over the last three years, members of the 27-nation bloc had granted aid and provided guarantees of €4.6 trillion to the financial sector in the aftermath of the 2008 global crisis.

"It is time for the financial sector to make a contribution back to society," he said.

The tax is opposed both by the US and by some countries within the EU, notably Britain which is home to some of the most important financial markets in the world.

On the commission's drawing-board for more than a year, the tax idea was given fresh impetus last month when given the nod by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

If adopted - not before 2014 - the tax could bring in between €30bn and €50bn a year.

Troika officials due in Athens today

Officials from the Troika audit team drawn from the IMF, the EU and the European Central Bank are expected to start arriving in Athens today ahead of talks on the Greek government's plan to deepen budget cuts and raise new taxes.

Last night, the Greek parliament passed a controversial new property tax bill.

The move is expected to allow the country to benefit from an €8bn tranche of the second bailout fund agreed in principle by EU leaders in July.

However, reports say the issue of debt default remains on the table.

The second €109bn bailout aims to ease Greece's debt burden by imposing a 21% loss on private Greek bondholders.

However, many economists believe that a 50% loss is necessary to make the country's debt viable.

Meanwhile Greek taxi drivers, bus and tram operators and tax collectors are preparing to strike for a second day today with rail and metro workers likely to join them.

Malta EFSF vote

Malta is next week expected to take a vote in parliament on Eurozone’s rescue fund.

Government and Opposition representatives are meeting today to finalise an agreement on the parliamentary procedure on the vote.

It is being reported that government has prepared draft legislation that has been forwarded to the Opposition for consideration, and it is expected to be brought forward for First reading in the House as it resumes business after the summer holidays next Monday.

Last week, Malta asked for collateral to secure its own guarantees on the Greek bailout, insisting that all eurozone member states should be treated equally.

According to the latest agreement, Malta is to pledge €400 million in guarantees to the EFSF which will be used to raise cash on the markets for countries in crisis.