The body drawing up aconstitution for the European Union is to discuss whether acountry leaving the bloc under its suggested provisions couldremain a member of the euro zone.
Two members of the Convention on the Future of Europe's working group on economic policy today saidtheydid not expect a country to have such an option if it left orwas thrown out of the EU.
Former French President Valery Giscard D'Estaing who headsthe convention presented draft proposals for a constitution foran expanded EU under which there would be anunprecedented mechanism for member states to leave the bloc.
However, membership of the single currency has until nowbeen seen as irrevocable.
Giscard's plan therefore might for the first time offercountries a formal exit route from the single currency.
"The Convention has not discussed this point and it hassimply been said that we must have the point discussed in thefuture," Klaus Haensch, the chairman of the Convention's workinggroup on economic governance, said.
However, he added: "Leaving the European Union and stayingin the euro zone is not operable. I can't see the Conventionconceiving such a solution."
The issue is still too theoretical to unsettle financialmarkets, but analysts say it might grab their attention in thefuture.
"The reason why euro membership was fixed and irrevocablewas to avoid the possibility of currency instability. What weare talking about is an extreme scenario and from a market pointof view it's not quite on the agenda yet," said Neil MacKinnon,chief economist at the ECU Group in London.
"If there was the possibility of exit (from the euro) thenit would create prospective instability and it could be apotential problem."