Brussels- The European Union's executive on Wednesday warned six member states, including France, that they are going too deeply into debt as they struggle to ward off recession, opening a formal process which could in the end lead to legal proceedings.

Euro users France, Greece, Ireland, Malta and Spain, and non-euro country Latvia, saw their government deficits surge to more than 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008.

That breaches the EU's rules, under which national governments are allowed to run a budget deficit of up to 3 per cent of GDP. States which violate the rules too flagrantly can ultimately face a fine.

The economic crisis which engulfed Europe in the second half of 2008 has pushed many EU governments deep into the red as they struggle to cope with decimated tax revenues and a sharp rise in emergency spending.

Ireland, Latvia and Spain have all been hard hit by the collapse of their real-estate markets. France, which has struggled over the last five years to keep its deficit within EU limits, saw spending soar at the end of 2008 as it fought to keep the country's financial and industrial sectors afloat. (dpa)