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 Member States so that the spirit and the letter of the Stability Pact and Maastricht criteria are respected", insisted the European CDU member. Also, repeating that "it was a serious mistake not to send the "blue letter" to Germany because of the massive pressure by Chancellor Schröder", he affirmed that France "which rightly assumes a strong European position in the world, must also recognise that a weak euro will weaken the confidence that the whole world has in Europeans". One cannot separate foreign policy and economic and financial policy, insists Mr Pöttering, who calls for no distinction to be made between the small and the large Member Sates in such affairs.