Euro crisis not over, says German finance minister

MUNICH, Germany - The German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Friday warned of complacency about the improvements made in eurozone, saying that the crisis is not over.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the 49th Munich Security Conference, Schaeuble said, "I think the euro crisis has not yet come to an end."

"It would be wrong if we believe that all problems had been solved," he said, adding that it would be a bad message to say the crisis is over.

However, Schaeuble pointed out that the euro zone is in a much better position compared with the situation a year ago. "We are on our way towards reducing this crisis, making progress step by step, " he said.

Schaeuble saw great progress has been made by the eurozone in past years, underlining that the economy benefit a lot from European integration. "Europe is the strongest economy in the world if you take all the countries together and this is a considerable achievement," he said.

At the same time, Schaeuble argued that the economic integration was achieved in a complicated process, which can hardly be understood both in Europe and outside.

According to Schaeuble, all the member countries have made considerable progress in fighting against the crisis in terms of deficits reduction. "it is probably even more important when it comes to reducing the unit wage costs," he said.

He stressed the need to make a further advancement in the European secondary law, which consists of binding rules. "We have achieved considerable progress and that is why the financial markets are regaining confidence," he said.