British Government to Make Euro Announcement on June 9

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, May 16, 2003

British Government to Make Euro Announcement on June 9

The British government is to make anannouncement on June 9 on whether the economic tests have been met for Britain to join the euro, the Downing Street said on Thursday.

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The British government is to make anannouncement on June 9 on whether the economic tests have been met for Britain to join the euro, the Downing Street said on Thursday.

"The announcement on the euro will be made in the House of Commons on Monday the ninth of June," Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman told reporters.

The spokesman added that Blair and his chancellor (finance minister) Gordon Brown would discuss the euro issue through next week before the cabinet held a "final discussion" in the run-up toJune 9.

Reports said on Wednesday that a compromise had been made following "intense discussion" in recent days between Blair and Brown, who is noticeably cooler on the single currency than the prime minister.

A government report indicated that Blair had accepted Brown's "core economic judgment" that the government's five economic tests for entering the single currency had not been met.

The Labor government is widely expected to say the time is not yet right for Britain to join the euro, which has been adopted by 12 of the 15 European Union members.

But the spokesman for Blair said that "the government has nothing to say on this topic until the economic assessment is published."

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