October 24, 2003	Friday	Sha’aban 27, 1424

BRUSSELS, Oct 23: The European Commission on Thursday vowed “equal treatment” of all members of the 12-nation eurozone after Germany said its deficit would surpass an EU limit again next year.

Commenting after Germany said it was on course to breach the Stability and Growth Pact’s deficit limit for the third straight year in 2004, a Commission spokesman said Brussels would give “equal treatment to all member states”.

Last week, the Commission proposed delaying by one year the deadline for France to get its deficit below 3.0pc of economic output to 2005. France too is on course to breach the stability pact limit for the third year running.

The Commission spokesman, Gerassimos Thomas, reiterated “concern” over Germany’s public finances expressed by EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes in Berlin on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Hans Eichel said on Thursday that Germany was unlikely to bring its public deficit back under the 3.0 per cent ceiling next year.

“Since we’re not going to achieve growth of 0.75 per cent this year or 2.0 per cent in 2004, it’s clear that we won’t be able to meet the limit of 3.0 per cent next year,” Eichel said.

Smaller member states are angry at the flouting of the EU rules by France and Germany, the eurozone’s two biggest economies.

EU finance ministers are due to vote on the Commission’s proposals over the French deficit when they next meet on November 4, with the Dutch government notably taking a hard line.

Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm restated on Thursday his threat to take the Commission to the European Court of Justice unless it proposes fining France for its successive deficit overruns.

“It is very strange that the Commission is rewarding France instead of carrying out its role, which is to safeguard the (Maastricht) treaty and the pact,” Zalm said through his spokesman.—AFP