Euro crisis is over – Hollande

French President Francois Hollande has declared an end to the eurozone debt crisis, which has gripped the region for the past four years.

“What you need to understand here in Japan is that the crisis in Europe is over,” he told Japanese business leaders on a trip to the Far East.

Much of Europe is suffering from high unemployment and recession.

As recently as April, there were fears about the future of the euro due to confusion over bailing out Cyprus.

The tiny eurozone state secured a loan package worth 10bn euros (£8.4bn; $13bn) from its EU partners and the International Monetary Fund.

An early proposal to raise money through a levy on all Cypriot bank deposits caused concern in financial markets and was quickly withdrawn. Instead, the island agreed to raise 13bn euros through a tax on large deposits and through banking reform.

This came after bailouts of Greece – twice – as well as Ireland, Portugal, and a bailout of Spain’s banks.

Unemployment in the eurozone is at another record high – with 19.38 million out work – and the bloc is in its longest recession since it was created in 1999, now in six consecutive quarters of shrinkage.

BBC News

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