"The political union will come later, it is the stage that will follow the budgetary union, the banking union, the social union. It will come after the European elections in 2014", said Hollande in an interview that he gave before tomorrow's start of the two-day summit in Brussels for more European papers.
In the interview, Hollande also assessed that the countries of the European Union are "very close" to exiting the crisis in the eurozone.
"As far as exiting the crisis in the eurozone is concerned, we are very close to that, very close. Since we only made good decisions at the summit on June 28 and 29 and we have the task of implementing them quickly," said the French president. "
First, by finally solving the problem of Greece, which has made so much effort and which must be convinced to remain in the euro zone. Then, by responding to the requests of countries that have implemented the expected reforms and that should be able to be financed under reasonable conditions. And finally, by establishing a banking union," said Hollande.
"I want all these issues to be resolved by the end of the year. Then we will be able to dedicate ourselves to changes in our way of decision-making, deepening our union. It will be a big job at the beginning of 2013," added the French president.
"The worst - the fear of the collapse of the Eurozone - is over. But the best is not yet here. It is up to us to build it," said Hollande.
In the interview, Hollande assessed that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is "clear" and "says things" and said that he has "the same approach" as her.
"She is clear, she says things... That saves time. I have the same approach. And as for the things on which our views differ, we try to find the best goal. It is easier with explicit starting points than with ambiguous ones. starting points. And Angela Merkel cannot be blamed for being ambiguous," he said.
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