French President Francois Hollande sought to reassure Japanese business leaders Saturday that the eurozone debt crisis is over but acknowledged that steps to boost the region's growth and competitiveness need to be taken. In a speech on the final day of his visit to Japan, Hollande said that the potentially destructive debt crisis has served to "reinforce" Europe and foster greater integration of the 17 member economies that use the euro currency. He said authorities are developing tools to ensure greater stability and solidarity such as a Europe-wide "banking union" and budgetary rules. "What you need to understand here in Japan is that the crisis in Europe is over. And that we can work together, France and Japan, to open new doors for economic progress," he said in the speech at the Imperial Hotel organized by The Nikkei, a major financial newspaper. Hollande said Europe needs to put more emphasis on taking steps to promote growth and competitiveness "so that we can have a better presence in the world." He also highlighted his proposal to create a common economic government for the eurozone that would set economic policy. Hollande called Japan an "exceptional partner" and urged both countries to invest more in each other. France's annual exports to Japan total about 7.5 billion euros ($9.8 billion), while its imports are just over 9 billion euros. Both rank 11th as respective trade partners, according to a report of the Associated Press.
