Brussels, 03/01/2008 (Agence Europe) - On 1 January 2008, Malta and Cyprus changed over to the euro as planned, increasing the number of EU member states using the single currency from thirteen to fifteen. The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia will travel to Malta 12 January and Cyprus on 18 January to attend ceremonies marking the countries joining the euro.
In Nicosia, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, said on 31 December 2007that Cyprus joining the EU is rightly seen as a huge achievement, and its entry into the eurozone is another important step. Full media attention focused in Malta on the country joining the euro, with the Times of Malta writing that by joining the eurozone Malta had earned its place around the table with the economic giants.
The European Central Bank (ECB) also welcomed the 'new enlargement' of the eurozone. Since Cyprus and Malta joined the euro, the Central Bank of Cyprus and the Central Bank of Malta have been full members of the Eurosystem, with the same rights and duties as the other thirteen central banks of the EU member states in the euro.
The euro was created in the form of scriptural money in 1999 and as fiduciary money in 2002. It was used by 12 EU countries in 2002 and Slovenia became the thirteenth member of the eurozone in 2007. A euro is worth 1.71 Cypriot pounds and one Maltese lira is worth €2.33. Cyprus and Malta are the two smallest economies in the eurozone, with a population of 778,684 and 407,810 respectively at the start of 2007. GDP per inhabitant stood at 92% of the EU average in Cyprus in 2006 and 77% in Malta. (L.C.)