51.   Waigel sought to calm the storm on Friday, saying any country could qualify if it met the convergence criteria.

52.   Italy wants a delay to allow it time to meet the Maastricht convergence criteria which set strict targets for budget deficits and monetary stability.

53.   Maastricht convergence criteria states the budget deficit must be within three percent of GDP.

54.   Meanwhile politicians in Paris, Bonn and Aachen sought to steady nerves -- and jittery markets -- that the convergence criteria set out under Maastricht will be met.

55.   Quinn said that at an informal meeting in Valencia in Spain at the end of September, European Union finance ministers had agreed to stand by the convergence criteria.

56.   Prime Minister John Major said later that Britain would not adopt the euro if Britain was not satisfied that strict convergence criteria for the single currency had been observed.

57.   Several European countries are currently scrambling to bring their economies into line with tight convergence criteria that member states must match in order to qualify for EMU.

58.   That would help France meet Maastricht Treaty economic convergence criteria.

59.   The chancellor also insisted that the so-called convergence criteria remained valid.

60.   The convergence criteria cover the key economic indicators in all those countries candidate to join a single European currency.