President Barack Obama said on Wednesday a free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union could boost jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic and he also stressed the need for economic structural reforms.

Speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Obama also said: "We have a profound stake in each other's success. We agreed that there is more work to do. Not only do we need to grow but we also need to reform our economies structurally."