"I aired our view of the importance of strengthening demand in Europe, especially in light of rising unemployment," U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said.
Balancing Austerity and Investment
EU leaders have struggled to chart a consistent path marrying German-led demands for austerity with calls to invest for growth, a subject set to feature when G20 leaders gather in Russia later this year.
Schaeuble told reporters that "nobody, also in Europe, sees this contradiction between fiscal consolidation and growth."
"We have a common position, growth-friendly consolidation or sustainable growth, whatever one calls it," he added.
France has been among those pushing for more efforts for growth and Moscovici said he agreed on the need for balance.
"I want to note my agreement with what the treasury secretary said," Moscovici said, adding that balance was needed between "the recovery of public finances, which remains a necessity, and policies in support of growth, which are indispensable."
Ahead of Lew's trip, a top U.S. Treasury official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had said it was "vital" to see rebalancing within the euro area.
The official called for surplus economies to contribute more to demand in order to ease adjustment in the periphery, "avoid austerity fatigue and renew Europe's economic vibrancy."
During his talks in Brussels with top EU officials, including EU President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso, Lew had stressed the U.S.'s major interest in Europe's recovery and reform efforts.
Washington is taking a keen interest in EU plans to develop an integrated banking union across the 17-state eurozone, to parry the risk of a bigger crisis than the one in Cyprus where banks went into lockdown amid fears of international capital flight.
A banking union is "critical to ensuring the long-term stability of the euro area," Lew told reporters in Berlin.
Kate Millar, AFP
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
