Francois Hollande Calls For Eurozone Government

French President Francois Hollande has called for the creation of a eurozone government and for people to renew their faith in the European project.

His comments, in an opinion piece in a French newspaper, revive an idea originally put forward by another Frenchman, former European Commission chief Jacques Delors.

Writing in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, Mr Hollande proposed "a government of the eurozone (with) a specific budget as well as a parliament to ensure its democratic control".

Mr Delors' idea for closer integration caused controversy in Britain when it was proposed more than two decades ago, leading The Sun newspaper to famously declare on its front page: "Up Yours Delors".

Faith in the European project has been weakened by the Greek crisis, which has seen the country teeter on the brink of financial collapse, needing a number of bailouts to prop up its economy.

Long queues are expected outside the country's banks on Monday, when they will open for the first time in three weeks.

Ahead of talks on a third bailout for Greece, Mr Hollande called for a renewal of faith in Europe.

He said the 19 member states of the eurozone had opted to become part of the monetary union because it was in their interests and no one had "taken the responsibility of getting out of it".

"This choice calls for a strengthened organisation, an advance guard of the countries who will decide on it," he said.

Currently, eurozone members are united in an informal body, the Eurogroup.

This is made up of each country's finance minister, and is presided over by Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

Despite the eurozone's current troubles, Mr Hollande went on to claim in the article that "what threatens us is not an excess of Europe but its insufficiency".

He said Europe had let its institutions become weaker and admitted the European Union's 28 members were "struggling to find common ground to move forward".

"Parliaments remain too far away from decisions," Mr Hollande said.

"And people are turning away after having been bypassed so much."

The French leader said populist movements had seized upon disenchantment with European institutions and were taking issue with Europe because "they are scared of the world, because they want divisions, walls and fences to return".