The financial crisis sweeping through east Asia will have a "negligible" impact on growth in Europe and no impact whatsoever on the planned launch of a single currency next January, the EU's top monetary official said yesterday. "There is absolutely no reason to panic," the European Union's Finance Commissioner, Mr Yves Thibault de Silguy said. Despite nearly six months of crisis in Asia, there was still no sign of any knock-on effects in EU economies, he argued, underlining that the Commission was sticking by its forecast of 3 per cent average growth for the 15-member bloc in 1998.

The crisis could even have some positive effects for Europe, Mr De Silguy said. The rise of the dollar, which had been one of the consequences of the crisis, would help stimulate export-led growth in Europe and also augured well for lower global interest rates, he said.

Asian countries also stood to benefit in the longer term from the "slimming cure" that the crisis had forced upon them, the commissioner added.