French President Francois Hollande says there’s no alternative to a 'Strong Europe'

European nations can only overcome the challenges they face through greater unity, French President Francois Hollande said as he addressed the European Parliament alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

With the European Union "facing new dramas and being set new challenges," Hollande said "nothing would be more pointless" than for nations to try to solve them on their own.

He listed recent recessions, youth unemployment, refugees, and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine as events that raised fears in Europe and led some to turn inward.

"Only a strong Europe can protect our sovereignty," Hollande said. "Restoring borders would be a tragic error."

Hollande and Merkel jointly addressed the parliament in Strasbourg, a quarter century after then French President Francois Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl did the same.