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Hollande says EU countries must fight for single vision of Europe

Xinhua, December 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Visiting French President Francois Hollande and Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Wednesday that the European Union (EU) must not be divided into geographic zones, and the member countries must keep together.

Hollande arrived on a deferred visit to the Czech Republic on Wednesday.

Czech President Milos Zeman and Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka met Hollande separately.

During his meeting with Zeman, Hollande talked about economic cooperation, migration and the situation in Ukraine and Syria. They agreed that their countries' industry and trade ministers will deal with the minimal wage of Czech lorry drivers crossing France.

Sobotka and Holland talked about the security issues, both of them taking a positive stance on joint European defence and on cooperation in protecting the external borders of the Union.

A joint European defence would contribute to a better protection of the EU outer border, and this will also help the fight against terrorism which can launch an attack anywhere.

They both also stressed that the European Union must not be divided into geographic zones and member states must keep together.

Sobotka said Prague is interested in strengthening cooperation between the Visegrad Four (V4) and countries like France which were founders of the EU.

Hollande said the EU countries may take different stances, but they must fight for a single vision of Europe. He said European politicians must try to raise the Europeans' trust in the EU.

The V4 is comprised of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Endit