The European Central Bank said it is investigating a quality problem with threads in the euro banknotes that are due to come into circulation on January 1st next year.
It said in a statement after today's meeting of the governing council that the problems are "limited" and the banknote volumes intended for the launch are not affected.
"The problem has been detected in one batch of euro banknotes and tests are under way to establish the precise nature of the deterioration in quality," the ECB said.
The ECB also said it has approved an additional production of euro bank notes amounting to around 10 per cent of the launch requirements to ensure a smooth cash changeover.
It said the ECB has rescheduled its Dublin governing council meeting for June 21st.
The ECB had planned to hold today's governing council meeting in Dublin but was forced to postpone the event owing to fears about the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. AFP