FRANCE - GERMANY - EU - PARLIAMENT - MERKEL - HOLLANDE

FRANCE, Strasbourg: German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and French President Francois Hollande (R) are pictured during their joint address at the European Parliament on October 7, 2015 in Strasbourg, eastern France. Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande are set to give a joint address, the first such event by leaders of the two countries since 1989. Merkel and Hollande, the leaders of the European Union's two biggest economies, have played a driving role in a series of challenges that have gripped the 28-nation bloc, ranging from the migrant crisis to the Greek debt saga and the conflict in Ukraine. Failure to act in Syria risks stoking a total war in the Middle East, Francois Hollande said in a landmark speech to the European Parliament alongside Angela Merkel.