Brussels - The European Union's executive was set on Tuesday to give France until 2012 to bring its government deficit back in line with EU rules, diplomats in Brussels said Monday.

At a meeting in the French city of Strasbourg, the European Commission is to debate what to do to with euro users France, Greece, Ireland and Spain, after their government debts broke the EU's limit of 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008.

The commission is set to give France until 2012 to bring its deficit - which commission figures say hit 3.2 per cent in 2008 and should reach 5.4 per cent this year - back into line.

Greece is set for similar treatment, while Spain and Ireland, which have been especially hard hit by the current financial crisis, could get more time, diplomatic sources told German Press Agency dpa without specifying a date.

The commission is also expected to call on Britain to bring its government deficit - estimated at 4.6 per cent of GDP in 2008 and predicted to more than double by 2010 - back into line. However, it has no power to enforce that call.

Under the EU's rules, the commission is empowered to start legal proceedings against member states which break the 3-per-cent barrier, and to recommend ways for them to return to sound management.

In extreme cases, it can call for sanctions against euro users, although this has never been done in practice.

Those rules have been but to a severe test by the current economic crisis, with governments pumping massive funds into their economies in a frantic bid to stave off recession.

According to commission forecasts, the EU's economy as a whole is set to shrink by 1.8 per cent this year.

On February 18, the commission also called for proceedings against Latvia and Malta. However, neither is expected to be given a deadline for bringing its budget into line on Tuesday. (dpa)