The European Commission today formally launched disciplinary procedures against France and Germany for failing to comply with eurozone stability pact guidelines on their public sector deficits EU officials said that the Commission has opened an "excessive deficit procedure" against Germany, whose deficit this year is projected this to exceed the stability pact ceiling of 3pc of GDP. For France, the commission has launched the "early warning procedure", intended for countries approaching the limit. In its autumn forecasts last week, the Commission predicted that Germany's deficit would rise to 3.8pc this year and will still be at 3.1pc of GDP in 2003, while forecasting that France's deficit will rise to 2.9pc of GDP next year from 2.7pc in 2002. EU finance ministers will decide in December or January what action to take on the Commission's recommendations. //www.fxcentre.com