The European Central Bank insisted that production of euro banknotes is on schedule, rejecting a newspaper report that said printing problems could leave European nations short for the introduction of the notes on Jan. 1, 2002.

Printers in France and Italy, which have to produce the biggest batch of euro bills after Germany, are particularly plagued by quality problems and delays, Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine said. The report quoted unidentified sources from a recent meeting of employee