"The president of the ECB said the ECB will do all that is necessary to maintain the euro and the German government will do all that is politically required to maintain the euro," government spokesman Georg Streiter told a news briefing.

"The ECB makes its contribution and the German government makes its contribution," Streiter added.

Finance ministry spokeswoman Marianne Kothe reiterated Berlin's view that the EU treaty does not allow the EFSF bailout fund to receive a banking license - one idea mooted to relieve market pressure on heavily indebted states such as Spain.

Kothe said Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble would issue a statement later on Friday about the general situation in the euro zone, where yields on Spanish and Italian debt have soared this week amid resumed fears for the future of the euro zone.

(Reporting by Gareth Jones and Stephen Brown)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency