BERLIN (AFX) - German Finance Minister Hans Eichel said he is in favour of strengthening the stability pact to which euro zone governments adhere, rather than weakening it. Eichel told journalists in Riga earlier this month that the pact was agreed when most EU governments were running heavy budget deficits and that it might be more useful in the current situation to follow spending targets than the rigid annual deficit reduction laid out in the stability pact. European Central Bank president Wim Duisenberg said yesterday that attempts by governments to change the EU's stability pact could damage the economy and undermine credibility in the consolidation of national budgets. Speaking at a Franco-German economic summit here today, Eichel also said that Germany will "certainly" not reach the government's 2.0 pct growth forecast for this year.