Germany needs Europe and the European Union (EU) is strong enough to overcome the current crisis facing it, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday in her weekly podcast. "There's 80 million people in Germany, we're the biggest country (in the EU)," she said. "But if we want to achieve something in the wider world then we need more than just us. "That's why the EU, with its 500 million residents, is simply a very, very good thing." The chancellor said she was also confident she could establish a good working relationship with French president-elect Francois Hollande. "A good French-German relationship is simply very important - for both countries," she was quoted as saying by DPA. Hollande is expected to hold talks with Merkel in Berlin on Tuesday, straight after his inauguration, on his first official trip abroad.
