BERLIN, Aug 28 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Sunday it was important that Germany sticks to its fiscal policy of taking on no new debt after next year's federal election as it was necessary to reduce public debt.

In July government sources said Germany wanted to stick to plans for a balanced budget over the next four years and reduce its total public debt to less than 60 percent of gross domestic product in 2020 for the first time since 2002, meeting a criterion set out in the EU's Stability and Growth Pact.

(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Michelle Martin)