THE British Foreign Secretary, Mr Malcolm Rifkind, said it was unlikely a single European currency would be formed in 1999.

"A single currency is unlikely to actually happen in any country in 1999," he said.

"If it did happen, it would be essentially for political reasons, that the convergence criteria were not being properly respected, and on that basis it would be very unlikely that the United Kingdom would wish to join."

He said there were clear reasons why the German Chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl, the European Commission President, Mr Jacques Santer and the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, would not acknowledge any possibility of delay in the single currency being introduced in 1999.

"There are strong political reasons why they have to maintain that position. They may believe it, I'm not questioning their sincerity, but they also do have a domestic political imperative," he said.

There have recently been moves that "could best be described as creative accountancy" in some European countries, he said.