France to stick to 3 pct budget deficit target for 2015 - minister
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - France will stick to the European Union deadline to reduce its budget deficit below 3 percent by the end of 2015, French Finance Minister Michael Sapin told a news briefing on Thursday.
The statement marks a change from his call last week for negotiations on the "rhythm" of reducing the deficit, which stood at 4.3 percent of national output last year, to below the EU treaty limit of 3 percent.
"The goal of three percent is a goal that we should keep. I am talking about 2015," Sapin told reporters ahead of a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Washington.
Paris, which is under EU disciplinary action for running too high a budget gap, has already been granted last year a two-year delay to reduce it within the EU limits by the end of 2015.
But on April 3, Sapin told France Inter radio:
"It is the timing which will be discussed, with common interests in mind ... It is in Europe's interest to find the right timing," echoing earlier remarks in a similar vein by President Francois Hollande.
The European Commission, which is the only institution that can propose a further extension of the deadline, repeatedly said there were no grounds for it.
Euro zone finance ministers also said Paris had to stick to its commitments. Germany, once a French ally in side-stepping the EU rules that limit the size of deficits in EU countries, also said France should keep its promises.
On Thursday Sapin said he was misunderstood by the media.
"What is written about me in the press is not necessarily what I said. We have talked about a rhythm, about a pace, and people immediately think that means slower. Well, not at all," he said.
(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski)
