EU 'faces its greatest challenge' - Jose Manuel Barroso

Appealing for patience over the Greek debt crisis in his annual State of the Union address in Strasbourg, he said: "This is not a sprint but a marathon."

Proposing a controversial financial transactions tax and eurobonds, he urged greater economic integration.

There were new protests in Athens ahead of a visit by international lenders.

The so-called troika, made up of the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), are assessing Greece's eligibility for further bailout money.

A key obstacle to the payment was removed on Tuesday when the Greek parliament passed a controversial new property tax bill, first announced earlier this month, that aims to boost revenues.

Outside parliament, on Syntagma Square, riot police fired tear gas, and reportedly used truncheons, to break up a protest by about 1,000 demonstrators.

Greek tweeters complained that local media were downplaying the force used by police to disperse anti-austerity protesters from the "indignant" movement.

"Strategy of police and government is obviously not to let people gather and demonstrate peacefully in Syntagma," tweeted one leading blogger, @irategreek.

'Emotional arguments'

Mr Barroso's comments about Greece remaining in the eurozone were met with applause in the European Parliament.

"Greece must implement its commitments in full and on time," Mr Barroso added.

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

Speaking about the scale of the crisis, the European Commission chief said: "We are today faced with the greatest challenge our union has known in all its history"; Kazinform cites BBC.

To learn more go to www.bbc.co.uk