Eurozone crisis 'far from over': Merkel

BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that the eurozone debt crisis is "far from over" and the economic environment of next year will be more difficult.

"That should not discourage us, it should spur us on," Merkel said in a taped address to be broadcast on Monday evening, noting that the three-year-old sovereign debt crisis shows how important it is to strike a balance between prosperity and solidarity.

"The European sovereign debt crisis shows us how important this balance is. The reforms we have agreed to are beginning to take effect. But we still need a lot of patience. The crisis is far from over," she added.

Merkel said more needs to be done internationally to monitor the financial markets, warning that the world has not sufficiently learned the lesson of the devastating financial crisis of 2008.

Domestically, she emphasized research as a priority, saying that "if we can do something that others cannot, we preserve and create prosperity."

Merkel pledged to invest more in education and research, build Germany into one of the most modern energy producers in the world, prepare the country for demographic change and bring public finances into order.