111.  Britain, for example, declined to be part of the launch of the single European currency in January, citing national wariness.

112.  British Prime Minister John Major disclosed Thursday that his government is preparing for a referendum on the question of joining a single currency.

113.  British Prime Minister Tony Blair has ruled out joining the single currency for at least the next five years and then only after a national referendum on the issue.

114.  Brown has long advocated that Britain join in the single currency.

115.  Budget cutting and fiscal austerity measures adopted by European governments to qualify for the planned single currency have strengthened national economies, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said.

116.  Bundesbank council member Franz-Christoph Zeitler said the countries that fail to qualify for a single European currency should band their currencies together in a separate framework.

117.  Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer ratcheted up the pressure on European leaders to resist political compromises that might damage confidence in the planned single currency, the euro.

118.  Bundesbank council member Guntram Palm said the deutsche mark would rise further, costing Germany more manufacturing jobs, if the single currency is delayed.

119.  Bundesbank council members and German government officials have consistently called for strict adherence to Maastricht criteria to ensure the single currency is a stable one.

120.  Bundesbank council members have consistently called for strict adherence to the criteria to ensure the single currency is a stable one.