European Union (EU) finance ministers at their monthly meeting in Brussels on Thursday continued to debaterevamping the Stability and Growth Pact but failed to reach any agreement.

Although there is general agreement that the fiscal framework for the European single currency needs to be overhauled, ministerssaid they still had important details to work out.

"We've made good progress. A deal is possible," said LuxembourgPrime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who is also the finance minister in his tiny country. "But we all still need to move a bitfurther."

German Finance Minister Hans Eichel, whose country had excessive deficits in the last three years, reiterated Berlin's position that the pact needed to be "more growth oriented" in order to help out the flagging euro-zone economy.

Germany was one of the main proponents of setting a deficit capof 3.0 percent of GDP for euro members, but Berlin is now leading the charge for a more flexible interpretation of the pact.

However, smaller EU countries fear that weakening the pact willhurt the euro's credibility.

Source: Xinhua