Merkel fully agrees with Schaeuble on euro zone proposals

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in full agreement with Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on his proposals for more effective economic cooperation in the euro zone, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

"The chancellor and the finance minister are pulling in the same direction on this," said deputy government spokesman Georg Streiter at a regular government news conference, when asked about Schaeuble's proposals.

A spokesman for Schaeuble, Martin Kotthaus, told the same news conference that the European Union currency commissioner that Schaeuble proposed could boost confidence in the euro.

"A strengthened currency commissioner could stand for greater confidence in the implementation of measures and greater confidence in the euro zone itself," Kotthaus said.

Kotthaus also said that Germany's opposition to euro bonds remains clear and has not changed. He said Germany is in favor of pan-European banking supervision "as soon as possible" but noted it is a very complex issue requiring careful preparation. (Reporting by Stephen Brown and Erik Kirschbaum)