The international financial crisis has set off a radical change in thinking in Britain about the euro, EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said Sunday.

While acknowledging the majority opposition in Britain to embracing the euro, Barroso told French radio: "We are now closer than ever before."

He added: "I'm not going to break the confidentiality of certain conversations, but some British politicians have already told me: 'If we had the euro, we would have been better off'."

Sterling has suffered major falls in the credit crunch which has seen Britain, like other governments, spend massively in recent months to support the banking system.

(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)

"The British have an enormous quality, one of many, that is they are pragmatic," Barroso said on an RTL radio/LCI television broadcast. "This crisis has emphasised the importance of the euro, in Britain as well."

Full article here