German Chancellor Mr Helmut Kohl this weekend said he was certain that Germany could meet the criteria needed for joining the proposed European single currency in 1999, as doubts about the EMU deadline resurfaced.

However Mr Kohl failed to silence a chorus of worried voices as Bundesbank chief economist Mr Otmar Issing and prominent German politicians doubted whether Europe would be ready to meet the 1999 start date for European currency union.

Germany's budget deficit in 1995 breached the 3% of GDP ceiling laid down for EMU and cast doubts on monetary union.

"The real problem is if member states can, in the relatively limited time remaining, bring this major project to a sufficiently stable level to allow European currency policy to launch the common currency under good conditions," Mr Issing said.