A senior German central banker yesterday called for Greece to delay its entry into monetary union by at least a year because he said it did not yet qualify to join.

Bundesbank council member Hans Reckers said the euro's current weak level stemmed partly from political uncertainty. He urged European policy-makers to build confidence by upholding the standards with which monetary union was introduced. The European Council should not allow any special concessions for Greece's bid to join the euro, he added, saying that special concessions would set a dangerous precedent for future EMU accession candidates from Central and Eastern European countries.