FRANCE - GERMANY - EU - PARLIAMENT - MERKEL - HOLLANDE

FRANCE, Strasbourg: French President Francois Hollande is pictured 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.