The Tánaiste, Ms Harney and the President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, have added their voices to calls for a lenient approach to breaches of the Stability and Growth Pact by France and Germany.
Germany wants EU finance ministers to agree to a flexible interpretation of the pact's rules when they meet on Tuesday and to reserve sanctions for governments that refuse to co-operate with recommendations.
The European Commission believes that the pact's credibility will be undermined if the ministers shy away from punishing Europe's two biggest economies for breaking the budget rules for three years running. Ms Harney said yesterday that the pact should be flexible enough to serve Europe's economic interests. "Our economies are not machines. Our fiscal policies are not computer programmes. Our pact is not a code of sanctions but an adaptable framework for taking action on the economy. EU fiscal rules must be adaptable to encourage growth rates," she said.
Speaking in Strasbourg, Mr Cox said that he understood those who wanted the rules to be applied equally to all member-states, regardless of their size.
"Every instinct says that rules are rules, we must be strict and France and Germany must face sanctions like everybody else. Fairness dictates that the same rules are applied to small and large countries," he said.
He suggested, however, that punishing France and Germany would not be in Europe's smaller states' interests if such a move strangled economic growth in the EU's biggest economies.
"I believe the overriding political imperative is to stimulate growth and prosperity across the Union. So the question for finance ministers is - does it make sense to restrain the economies of France and Germany as they emerge from a downturn," he said.
Finance ministers must decide next week if this is the right time to take action against one member-state emerging from a recession and another not firing on all cylinders, he said.
"Imposing stringent conditions on such a huge proportion of the European economy, with cuts in spending and higher taxes is unlikely to increase growth.
Meanwhile, EU president Italy said yesterday it will present a compromise next week to try to defuse the situation.
