The European Union and Germany moved yesterday to quash doubts, sowed by officials' comments in recent days, about their commitment to the budgetary "stability pact" rules underpinning monetary union.

"Member-states and the European Commission remain committed to the objectives and the applicability of the Stability and Growth Pact," European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes said in a statement.

"There are no proposals to modify the pact coming from our ministry," a German Finance Ministry spokesman told a government news conference.

The flurry of denials followed comments by German Finance Minister Hans Eichel last week and a report in Handelsblatt newspaper on Monday indicating official unease in Berlin and Paris about crude budget deficit goals.

Both Berlin and Paris, like other euro-zone nations, are struggling to hit 2001 budget targets due to weaker-than-expected growth which has sapped tax revenues.

Handelsblatt, citing French government sources, said Mr Eichel and his French counterpart Mr Laurent Fabius wanted emphasis within the stability pact placed on new criteria - spending goals, with separate treatment of investment and consumption spending.

The newspaper said it was not yet clear if spending goals would replace the deficit targets or run alongside them.

The German Finance Ministry lent weight to the report, saying while there was no question of breaking with the pact there "probably" would be a move to fix spending targets.

But a spokesman said later he was speaking only for Germany, where the government was currently sticking to spending plans set last year despite a shortfall in revenues.

"There is agreement that the deficit is the political target," the spokesman told the government news conference.