The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, said yesterday the conditions were not yet right for Britain to introduce the euro, and that economic, not political, considerations would drive the decision.
"The issue is what is good for Britain's interest rates and investment and jobs," Mr Blair said on BBC TV's Breakfast with Frost.
"The euro for me is an issue with a specific economic dimension because it's an economic union that you're joining," he said.
"Even though politically there is a case for joining, economically there isn't that case at the present time."
In the past Mr Blair has made no secret of his ambition to lead the country into the euro zone and adopt the common currency, a move analysts say could enhance Britain's role within the European Union.
The British Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, had previously ruled that the five economic tests he had set for membership had not yet been met.
That has effectively put the euro question on the backburner at a time when British voters appear, if anything, to have been adopting an even more sceptical stance towards the EU.
"The dream in my heart was to make sure Britain was a leading player in Europe, not on the margins; I think Britain is today a leading player in Europe," said Mr Blair, without linking that to the euro.
Pollsters say there is little chance of Mr Blair calling a referendum on the euro as well as one he has already pledged on the European constitution, a charter to help the EU work more easily after enlargement.
Mr Blair already risks defeat over the constitution, whose vote is likely to take place in early 2006.
This would be after the next general election, which most analysts predict Mr Blair will call in May.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VR3765MFOBH2NMV2QNICYDF67M.png)