Berlin, Jan 18 (DPA -NT) - A leading member of Germany's Bundesbank, Otmar Issing, has joined those expressing concern about the prospects for introducing a common European currency by the turn of the century. In an interview in latest issue of Der Spiegel magazine, Issing, who is the central bank's chief economist, warned that the risks involved in pressing ahead with the 1999 deadline for European monetary union "should not be underestimated". Issing, who is also a member of the Bundesbank council, raised doubts about whether the European Union member states had enough time to stabilise their finances "to launch the common currency under good conditions". His remarks come after the release last week of figures showing that Germany's national deficit in 1995 had overshot the strict Maastrict Treaty target of three per cent of the gross domestic product by a surprisingly high 0.6 per cent. dpa am ds /AA1234/151454 Jan 96 nnnn

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