European Central Bank Governing Council member Nout Wellink said on Tuesday that France was making strenuous efforts to bring its budget deficit below EU limits. "France is very active and trying to stick to the rules of the game as soon as possible," Wellink said in remarks to reporters on the sidelines of an conference on the euro. He added that Germany was to some extent a different case, as sluggish economic growth made it harder for Germany to rein in its deficit. France and Germany are expected to break the 3 percent-of -GDP deficit limit set down in EU budget rules for the third year in a row in 2004. Wellink said it was important for all euro zone countries to respect the Stability Pact as long-term interest rates would otherwise be higher.||