Economic conditions are not likely to allow Britain to join Europe's single currency in the near future, Tony Blair said today.
"The political case for being part of any part of the European project is in my view overwhelming, always has been," Blair told a news conference at Downing Street.
"But this is different ... you can't do it unless the economic conditions are in the right place and they are not at the moment," he said, repeating an assessment he made in the run-up to his third straight election victory last week.
"At the moment, it is difficult to see in the near future how they are going to come into place," Blair said.
Blair may first have to win a promised referendum in which he will urge voters to approve the EU's proposed constitution, a vote which polls say will be extremely tough to win.
He would not give a firm date for that but said he "absolutely" intended to lead the campaign for a "Yes" vote.
Politicians say it would be almost impossible to hold a 2nd referendum, on euro entry, soon after the constitution vote.
But if France votes against the charter in its own referendum on May 29, Blair may be spared his own run-in with a eurosceptic public.
Britain, unlike most of the European Union countries outside the euro zone, is not obliged to adopt the single currency. Under the Maastricht Treaty which created a framework for the euro, it won an opt-out.