There is a risk the financial crisis will be prolonged or aggravated if euro zone governments ignore European Union budget rules, European Central Bank Executive Board Member Juergen Stark said in comments published on Wednesday. In an article for Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper, Stark said that governments should act decisively in coping with the financial and economic crisis without sacrificing budget goals for the medium-term outlined in the stability and growth pact. Despite the difficult economic environment, the pact should be implemented completely and be the central coordinating mechanism for financial policy in Europe, he said. "If this does not happen, there is a risk that the crisis would be prolonged or exacerbated," he wrote. "This would be the case if the financial crisis and the economic downswing is followed by a crisis in public budgets."