Frankfurt  - European Central Bank (ECB) chief Jean-Claude Trichet ruled out on Thursday changes to the rules for joining the euro amid calls to help shield troubled Central and Eastern European economies from the global financial crisis.

"I would say that at this stage our position would be that it is extremely important that we do not change any framework," Trichet said at a press conference in Frankfurt following a meeting of the ECB's rate-setting council.

Frankfurt - European Central Bank (ECB) chief Jean Claude Trichet signalled Monday that the bank's rate-setting council might deliver another cut in borrowing costs at its meeting next month.

"I consider possible that the Governing Council will decrease interest rates once again at its next meeting on November 6," said Trichet in a speech delivered in Madrid and posted on the Frankfurt- based bank's website.

"It is not a certainty, it is a possibility," he said with analysts expecting the ECB to cut borrowing costs again next month by 50 basis points, or half of one per cent.