PARIS, Sept 16, 2008 (AFP) - European Union countries must stand by budget overspending rules despite the financial crisis, EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Tuesday.

Referring to the Stability and Growth Pact, which requires governments to keep budget deficits under 3.0 percent of annual output and to move into surplus in times of growth, Almunia insisted: 'It should be respected.'

He told a press conference here, a day after US investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, sparking a global stock market rout: 'We know the turmoil is not over ... We are in the middle.'

But he said that despite the crisis, members of the European Union and particularly members of the eurozone had 'to stick to the fiscal framework,' which allowed for a margin of flexibility.

EU finance ministers have already decided there should be no general plan to stimulate demand with state financing to respond to the current economic downturn, despite some calls that demand should be boosted.