"I am convinced that it (the euro) will not break up," Nowotny, who is also governor of Austria's central bank, told the Kronen Zeitung in an interview released in advance of publication on Sunday. The euro was in the interest of both rich and poor countries, he said.

"I only hope it does not come to irrational developments," he added. Nowotny said he expected there would be a massive slowdown in the economy.

"Whether it really comes to a contraction, no one can say at the moment. But a recession, with all its negative consequences for the economy as a whole, can no longer be completely excluded," he said.