German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday that Europe should get over the current debt crisis through more structural reforms, drawing lessons from the past and eliminating addiction to living beyond limits.

Speaking in a meeting of her Christian Democrats in Berlin, Merkel said that Germany's own example, a comprehensive reform on pension and labor market taken by Gerhard Schroeder government since 2003, has "inspired us to say that structural reforms will produce extremely good outcomes in Europe."

The chancellor said Europe is now "standing at a crossroads", warning that it would be disastrous if some eurozone countries give up their efforts on painful reform and left half-way.

She stressed that the effects of reforms would not come overnight and it has to "take some time" to enjoy the fruit.

Facing mounting pressure from eurozone partners on Germany's leading role in the times of crisis, Merkel said her country was ready to make more contribution for the European integration, but Germany cannot be "involved in things which will end up with an even bigger disaster than today."

She added that Europe must learn from mistakes of the past, and could not simply answer the crisis with more debt.

A banking union or jointly guaranteed Eurobonds can only be achieved among the final phase of Europe's fiscal union, where "joint liability and joint control lie within one hand," Merkel said.

The chancellor welcomed Spain's request for a banking bailout of 100 billion euros (125 billion dollars) over the weekend, saying that Madrid should of course meet some conditions such as reforming its banking system as a return, but the requirements would be different from those for Greece and Portugal, which has asked for rescue loans for their government debts.