Verhofstadt: No Change on Euro Rules

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt has spoken out against German plans on how to reform the rules governing the euro. In an interview Thursday with Financial Times Deutschland, Verhofstadt said he had "great concerns" about some of the suggestions being mooted by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Germany, has broken the budget deficit cap of three percent of GDP set by the Stability Pact for three years in a row, and has been calling for certain types of spending, such as research, to be excluded when Brussels calculates deficits. "I am very sceptical about (the proposals)", the Belgian leader told the newspaper after a meeting with the chancellor on Tuesday.

German finance minister Hans Eichel complained recently that it was "unfair" that countries paying more money into EU coffers than they receive should then be punished for exceeding the EU's budgetary threshold. However, according to Verhofstadt "a less credible pact could lead to a trend for higher interest." That is why the EU should not "move away from the substance of the Stability Pact." (EUobserver.com)