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		Local MEP outraged at EU fudging of Rules on Euro Wednesday, 5 June 2002 Local Conservative Euro-MP, Roger Helmer, is outraged at the latest attempt to change the rules on the euro in order to avoid embarrassment to the French government. The adoption of important guidelines calling for France to achieve a balanced budget in 2004 has been unnecessarily delayed by political intervention in the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday. France has persuaded ministers to postpone the adoption of the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines which call for the balancing of its budget by 2004. President Chirac would like to delay the balancing of the budget until 2007, even though France is committed to a 2004 deadline under the Stability and Growth Pact. Adoption of the guidelines is now set to be deferred until after the second round of the French elections on June 16. Commenting on the postponement of the adoption of the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines, East Midlands MEP, Roger Helmer, commented: "The postponement is a disgrace. The French government should not be able to change the rules on the euro when it suit's them. "France has dealt yet another blow to the euro's credibility. The rules of the euro are continually fudged to avoid embarrassment to governments. "The euro is meant to be about economics. So why are the politics of the French election allowed to undermine the euro's economic policy?"