BRUSSELS -- France headed for a clash with other euro zone countries and the European Central Bank on Monday over its plans to backtrack on commitments and delay budget deficit cuts despite an economic upswing.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who came to Brussels for an unprecedented presentation of his economic plans to euro zone finance ministers and the ECB, also saw no support for his complaints about a strong euro hurting French growth and jobs.

All euro zone countries, including France, agreed in April in Berlin to balance their books by 2010. But Paris changed its mind after Sarkozy became president in May, and now wants a two-year delay to boost growth through various tax cuts.

"There is no reason to give up that commitment we made," German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck told reporters before the monthly meeting of the 13 euro zone ministers and ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet.

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The Belgian, Dutch and Austrian finance ministers also stood by the 2010 deadline.

"I will ask him (Sarkozy) to stick to the same agreement that we ask all countries to stick to," the Netherlands' Wouter Bos told reporters before the meeting.

"I am very optimistic that the French president will listen to our extremely rational and reasonable arguments."

But Sarkozy told his cabinet on Monday that the previous French government had been over-hasty in agreeing to balance its books by 2010, government spokesman Laurent Wauquiez said.

"The commitment was made in April 2007, which didn't necessarily make much sense," he added. "It was perhaps a bit quick to be making a decision of this type. These are issues which are fundamental for the future of our country."

EU budget rules, the Stability and Growth Pact, say deficits cannot be higher than 3 percent of gross domestic product and should be cut by at least 0.5 percentage point a year during economic good times. The rules underpin the euro.

Many euro zone officials want to see the pact respected after repeated breaches of the deficit ceiling by France and Germany forced its revision in 2005.

Germany has made painful budget deficit cuts much more quickly than France and expects to tighten policy further.

"The Stability and Growth Pact has to be respected," the ECB's Trichet told reporters in a rare comment before the meeting.

The pact allows for slower deficit cuts if a country is implementing structural reforms, but EU sources said only part of the moves proposed by Sarkozy could be seen as such. The ministers may ask France to give more details in September.

Portugal, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, also believes the agreement on balanced books in 2010 should be observed. But its finance minister, Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, said Sarkozy would get a fair hearing.

The most conciliatory remarks towards Paris came from Spanish Economy Minister Pedro Solbes.

"It's true the reformed pact leaves some room for flexibility on the preventive side. We have to see if (France's plan) falls within the reformed pact," he said.

Other than peer pressure, the euro zone ministers have no means of enforcing budget improvements if the deficit is less than the EU ceiling of 3 percent of GDP.

France forecast last week its deficit would stay put at 2.5 percent of GDP in 2007 and 2008. It had previously expected a 2008 deficit of 1.8 percent.

STRONG EURO

Sarkozy, who has repeatedly criticised the strength of the euro as a drag on French growth, is also likely to raise his exchange rate concerns with the ministers and the ECB.

The euro hit new highs against the Japanese yen on Monday and was close to all-time peaks against the U.S. dollar on expectations of more interest rate rises from the ECB against flat U.S. rates and very low Japanese borrowing costs.

But Germany, Europe's top exporter, was relaxed about the euro's rise. "I am not worried by a strong euro, I love a strong euro," Steinbrueck said.

Yet Sarkozy's concerns were echoed at the weekend by Europe's biggest carmaker and leading exporter Volkswagen, which said it would consider building a factory in the United States if the dollar remained weak against the euro.

Sarkozy would like euro zone finance ministers to get more involved with exchange rate policy, rather than leaving it to be driven by ECB interest rates alone. But Bos thought otherwise.

"I don't believe exchange rates get better if politicians get involved ... I think they should stay away," he said.

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