EU's presedent Barroso considers that strong euro helps to control inflation. He was speaking at a meeting with students at the French Haute Ecole de Commerce business school. The recent sharp rise in the euro has caused unease among several French politicians, including French President Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and Segolene Royal, the socialist candidate for next year's presidential elections. The politicians have voiced concern that a strong euro will have a negative impact on the country's economic growth and have publicly appealed to the European Central Bank to consider the euro's impact when making decisions on its monetary policy. "It's thanks to the strong euro that inflation remains controllable...and that we have bearable energy prices and historically low interest rates which are needed for growth," Barroso said, adding that a strong euro served to reduce energy bills for European consumers. "(The euro) is referred to as a problem linked to exports but it is generally good for consumers to have a strong euro," the president of the European Commission said. Barroso also said Turkey's opening of a port and airport to traffic from Cyprus was a "favorable" gesture.