François Hollande arrives at a press conference in Brussels on Friday. Photo: Bertrand Langlois/AFP
Europe's time of crisis over - Hollande
Published: 14 Dec 2012 17:02 GMT+01:00 | Print version
Updated: 14 Dec 2012 17:02 GMT+01:00
The times of crisis and confusion for the European Union are over, French President François Hollande said Friday.
Asked what he hoped for in 2013, Hollande said he wanted to see "a more united Europe, stronger, which believes in itself and does not present its difficulties to the world.
"That period is over," he said as he went into a summit of EU leaders. "We did a lot of good work this year and that allows us to be confident for 2013."
Hollande said the EU had made a lot of progress in fixing the underlying problems of the debt crisis which has sapped growth and sent unemployment soaring.
EU leaders have agreed the setting up of a single supervisor for the eurozone banks, the first step towards a key "banking union", and urgently needed bailout funds for Greece have been released, he noted.
For the longer-term, the 27 EU leaders asked European President Herman Van Rompuy to report back again in June on an ambitious blueprint for greater economic and political integration to bolster the bloc's foundations.
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Just give them unlimited time and unlimited money; your money!
Their followers, their true believers and their "useful idiots" are just waiting for this Utopian world.
Instead of destroying the World for the rest of us could they just read Alice in Wonderland? Instead of being politicians, they could spend their time visiting a rabbit hole, instead of dumping your money and the Public's money down the rabbit's hole.