Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted
in favour of Malta
adopting the euro currency as from the 1st January 2008. 610 votes approved the European Commission and the European Central
Bank’s (ECB) recommendation for Malta
to join the eurozone after it obtained positive convergence reports last May.
During Wednesday morning’s plenary session,
12 MEPs voted against Malta’s
adoption of the euro by next January while a further 78 abstained.
Wednesday’s session also gave Cyprus the go-ahead to join the currency on the
same day as Malta.
Malta’s
proposal will subsequently be scrutinized in the European Council on Thursday and
Friday, where the political agreement for the enlargement of the euro area is
to be adopted.
If the decisions of European Council are positive, proposals for the irrevocable
parity of the exchange rate will be presented and adopted in July’s Economic
and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN).
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