14/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - We are waiting to know the German draft budget for 2003 and the stability programme for Germany, the Commission spokesman told the press, asking him about the risk of the German budget deficit exceeding 3% in 2003. Hans Eichel said that Germany would respect its undertakings, whereas the "super-minister" appointed for the economy and labour, Wolfgang Clement had, in Der Spiegel, said that, if countries like France and Italy wanted more flexibility in the Pact, Berlin was not going to impede them. In France, Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told the press that President Chirac had spoken "to a certain number of heads of government" of his proposal to exclude military spending in calculating the budget deficit, and that he had received the support of "many countries". "The point raised by France is fundamentally fair", said Tony Blair in an interview with Sole-24 Ore. Furthermore, a collaborator of Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders told Reuters that Belgium was against such a proposal (likewise that of excluding "heavy investments"), as, "if we go down that path, we could end up be excluding almost half public spending".