Can EMU be left to stew?

THE official line is clear. Europe's single currency, the euro, will be cooked to perfection, as the Maastricht treaty demands, on January 1st 1999. There is no question of delay: it is not possible under the treaty; and renegotiation of the treaty is out of the question. This week, the European Union's monetary-affairs commissioner and an assortment of prime ministers went out of their way to reiterate their intention to push ahead on time. Economic and monetary union (EMU), they insist, will not deviate from the schedule.