Merkel, Hollande to jointly address European Parliament

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande will jointly address the European Parliament (EP) plenary session on October 7 in Strasbourg.

This will be an historic visit for historically difficult times, Xinhua news agency reported European Parliament President Martin Schulz as saying on Monday.

"The European Union is facing immense challenges and requires strong commitment by its leaders. It is an important signal that such commitment will be made in front of Europe's democratically elected representatives," he said.

A previous joint address took place in 1989 with then German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and French President Francois Mitterand.