29/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - After the first ever opening of "excessive deficit" procedure - towards Portugal - the president of the European People's Party/European Democrats Group at the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, urged once more for the European Commission to continue to "stick to it with coherence as has been done with the Stability Pact" (see yesterday's EUROPE, pages 6 and 7). The Commission must continue to "accompany in a critical manner the budgetary policies of...