Germany, along with France, Spain and Italy, backed urgent action to rescue a generation of young Europeans who fear they will not find jobs, with youth unemployment in the EU standing at nearly one in four, more than twice the adult rate.
"We need to be more successful in our fight against youth unemployment, otherwise we will lose the battle for Europe's unity," Germany's Schaeuble said.
While Germany insists on the importance of budget consolidation, Schaeuble spoke of the need to preserve Europe's welfare model.
If U.S. welfare standards were introduced in Europe, "we would have revolution, not tomorrow, but on the very same day," Schaeuble told a conference in Paris.
In March 2013, nearly 40 percent of under-25-year-olds in Portugal were jobless, and in Greece youth unemployment shot to a record 64 percent in February, while it was below 8 percent for Germany and Austria.
Following up on an idea aired earlier this month, French President Francois Hollande urged the euro zone to work towards a joint economic government with its own budget that could take on specific projects including tackling youth unemployment.
Read more: Germany fears revolution if Europe scraps welfare model | Reuters
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