Greek PM assures EU creditors after late-night crisis talks

David Cameron has launched a new drive to bolster former communist states under pressure from Vladimir Putin as the stand-off between Russia and the West over Ukraine continues.

The Prime Minister is setting up a £20 million Good Governance Fund to strengthen democratic institutions across a series of Eastern European states to help them counter intimidation from the Kremlin.

British officials said the scheme is based on the Know-How Fund set up by Margaret Thatcher following the fall of the Berlin Wall to help Poland and other former Soviet bloc states make the transition to democracy.

The move came as EU leaders meeting in Brussels agreed there would be no easing of sanctions against Moscow until it was clear the Minsk ceasefire deal was being fully honoured.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he was "more optimistic" after three hours of talks with the leaders of Germany, France and EU institutions on the possibility of further financing.

"I'm more optimistic after this deliberation. I think that all the sides confirmed their intention to try to do their best to overcome the difficulties of the Greek economy as soon as possible," Tsipras said on leaving the talks in Brussels.

The prime minister said all parties had promised they would work to restore Greece's funding ability as soon as possible.

Greece has promised to speed up implementing its extended bailout agreement and send a full list of detailed reform proposals to its eurozone partners, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said.

Following an overnight mini-summit with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, French President Francois Hollande and heads of the main EU institutions, Merkel said euro-area finance ministers are ready to meet soon to evaluate the reform plans.

However, she declined to set any date for releasing further aid to the cash-strapped Greek government, saying that depended on a positive evaluation of the reform proposals.

David Cameron is expected to take up the cause of hundreds of online "micro-businesses" threatened by changes in European tax rules at an EU summit in Brussels today.

The Prime Minister is planning to raise new VAT regulations for automated digital services at the summit - his last before the General Election takes place.

Cameron is planning to tackle European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker over the issue on the margins of the summit in the hope the commission will bring forward solutions by the summer.