British Chancellor of the ExchequerMr Gordon Brown will not use tomorrow's budget to announce whetherthe economic tests for euro entry have been passed, a British Treasuryspokesman has said.
There has been growing speculation that Mr Brown would unveilthe result of the tests in the budget as a way of divertingattention from the inevitable downgrades he will have to make tohis economic growth and public deficit forecasts.
"The prime minister and chancellor agreed without disputethat there was no question of doing the assessment on budget dayat the height of the Iraq conflict," a spokesman said.
Earlier the Financial Timesreported that Prime MinisterTony Blair had had to battle with Brown to persuade him not toannounce the assessment, which the government has promised tocomplete by June, in the budget.
It quoted a source close to Mr Blair as saying: "The decisionwon't come this week. But the prime minister has had to fightGordon off very hard to get it delayed."
With public opinion hostile to the euro and the euro zoneeconomy slumping, most pundits think the assessment is unlikelyto be positive. Mr Brown has long been thought to have been lesskeen on joining the euro than Mr Blair.