Brussels, 28/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has welcomed the adoption, by the Council of the EU, without debate, of the amendments to regulations 1466/97 and 1467/97, finalising the legislative revision of the stability and growth pact (SGP). The new “pact now provides a better and balanced framework that strengthens economic rationale and the capacity to promote budgetary rules in a Union of 25, which is therefore much more diverse”, declared the European Commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Joaquin Almunia, who also affirmed that, “ the Commission will continue to apply the rules of the pact with transparency, fairness and discipline, in order to ensure healthy public finance, which represents a necessary pre-condition for growth in Europe”. Last week Parliament adopted, without amendments, the common Council position on the preventive part of the Pact (EUROPE 8977). It had already approved regulation 1467/97, on the corrective section, at the June plenary session (EUROPE 8965).