German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck criticised new French budget plans on Wednesday, saying they appeared to call into question the European Union's Stability and Growth Pact.
Speaking at a news conference to present Germany's 2008 budget, Steinbrueck cautioned against judging France before the plans it announced on Tuesday are official, but signalled they would be a topic of discussion at a meeting of European finance ministers on Monday.
In a break with tradition, new French President Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to attend the meeting of euro-zone ministers to spell out his budget plans and defend his economic policies, which include controversial calls for a weaker euro currency.
"If it is confirmed that France is withdrawing from the so-called mid-term objectives then there would be a problem and not only from a German perspective but also from that of the Commission and other member states," Steinbrueck said.
"That would amount to calling into question the Stability and Growth Pact and therefore I expect there to be a discussion about this in the Eurogroup and Ecofin," he added.
The Ecofin includes finance ministers from the EU's 27 member states, while the narrower Eurogroup is composed of the 13 countries that use the euro. On Tuesday, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon unveiled new budget forecasts that were at odds with pledges made by EU member states at an April meeting in Berlin. Fillon's office said France's 2007 budget deficit would come in at 2.5 percent of gross domestic product, the same as in 2006, rather than falling as the European Commission has recommended.
It forecast a similar deficit for 2008, instead of the 1.8 percent promised in medium-term budget plans submitted by France earlier this year, and said the budget would be balanced in 2012 rather than 2010.
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