FRANCE yesterday staked the future of the European Union on the fate of the euro, saying the economic and political union at the heart of Europe would be at risk if the single currency were allowed to be torn apart by the region’s sovereign debt crisis.

    French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe gave a frank assessment yesterday of the consequences of a disintegration of the euro, telling reporters on a visit to Australia that EU mainstays France and Germany were both committed to preventing this.

    “We certainly cannot allow the sole currency to fall apart because falling apart would apply also to Europe as a whole,” Juppe said through his interpreter in Canberra.

    “The sole currency cannot really function unless there is economic power and European government as such around the euro zone.”

    France and Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse, are struggling to present a united front to shore up confidence in the 17-member euro zone, because of growing public unease over propping up weaker member states, especially Greece.

    France’s Juppe said debt-laden Greece needed to meet its commitments to put its finances on a sustainable footing, in order to access the latest 109 billion euro (US$150 billion) eurozone bailout package unveiled in July.

    Some economists believe Greece should exit the euro to give it more control over its crippled economy, but Juppe was adamant the euro should not be allowed to unravel.

    Juppe also suggested a stronger yuan would help reflate the eurozone, and said he would raise the issue in Beijing where he is to stop en route back home to France.

    (SD-Agencies)