The list of guests included the President of the European Central Bank, Mr. Jean-Cluade Trichet, the EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Mr. Jose Joaquin Almunia, the President of the European Commission Mr. José Manuel Barroso and the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. Walter Mario Mauro.

On his part, EU Commission President Jose’ Manuel Barroso who arrived in Malta on Saturday morning, heaped praise on Malta for having moved so swiftly to the heart of European integration, just three-and-a-half years after EU membership. Barroso said that since joining the EU, Malta had made great strides forward economically and, with membership of the Schengen area and the euro zone, it was at the heart of European integration and making an active contribution towards the European project. Mr Barroso visited the “Europe close to you fair”, and later Auberge de Castille.

Unexpectedly, Mr Barroso will also discuss the waste management issue in Naples with Italian Prime Minister Prodi while the two attend the euro adoption celebrations in Malta, Reuters reported. The issue took a new twist on Saturday when six protesters were arrested in Sardinia, Italy after a second night of clashes with Italian police over tonnes of trash that were shipped to the Mediterranean island from Naples to ease a garbage crisis there. Around 1,000 protesters in Cagliari, Sardinia's capital, burned garbage containers, threw rocks at police and dumped trash bags outside the villa of regional governor Renato Soru, whom they criticise for agreeing to take a share of Naples' waste.

President of Malta and Mrs. Fenech Adami hosted a State lunch for the Heads of Government, Ministers and State Secretaries and Heads of EU Institutions and their spouses at the Verdala Palace on Saturday at 1230CET.

Various bilateral meetings were held throughout the day on Saturday between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and the Prime Minister of Slovakia, the President of the European Commission, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, the Prime Minister of Italy as well as the Prime Minister of Belgium.

At 1700CET, all dignitaries arrived at the Mediterranean Conference Centre for an official Concert by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mro Michael Laus with the participation of soprano Miriam Gauci and tenor Joseph Calleja.

The Chairman of Steering Committee for the Adoption of the Euro, Finance Ministry Parliamentary Secretary, Tonio Fenech as well as Mr. Michael C Bonello, Governor of the Central Bank of Malta gave their welcome speeches.

Mr Fenech described this day as a very special occasion for Maltese people, as Malta celebrates another historical event for the islands as today the euro is also Malta’s national currency, thereby entrenching further the country’s European destiny. He said that this places Malta’s prospects of further economic growth on sounder foundations through further European economic and now also monetary integration.

“This day is the result of a lot of hard work that was carried out not just by a Government and a dedicated team of professionals that implemented this vision but, more significantly, by a whole Nation that is convinced of its European choice and that has responded to this challenge with courage, determination and enthusiasm”, Mr Fenech continued.

Mr Fenech also mentioned the several milestones and achievements reached until Malta adopted the euro such as putting our government finances on track and ensuring that they would remain so, reducing the deficit from 10% in 2004 to 1.6% of GDP in 2007 and, reducing public debt burden to 63% from 76% of GDP. More importantly, Malta has managed to do so while still experiencing improving economic conditions and higher GDP growth rates, which in 2007 were of about 4%.

External conditions and factors that were beyond the control of domestic policy, not least of which the significant increase in the international price of oil, added pressures on our public finances and resulted in inflationary conditions, Mr Fenech added. Although this threatened to derail plans completely, however, with the collaboration of all the stakeholders, Malta managed to stay on course. Although there are upside risks to inflation as a result of external conditions, our inflation levels are still relatively subdued by international standards.

Mr Fenech also mentioned the preparations for the changeover such as the early dual display of prices, the FAIR scheme for retailers and, the price stability agreements with importers, the mystery shopper initiative and Price Watch as well as the strong legal framework that was put in place to avoid and combat abuse. He said that “12 days on, we can say that it worked. Abuse has been minimal and, more importantly, our people do not believe that this has happened. Also, within nine days of e-day, we can safely say that the Euro had completely replaced the Maltese Lira. In this regard, I do not want this occasion to go by without my saluting the Maltese Lira which has served our country and its economy well for the past 35 years”.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, has promised to put illegal migration as one of the EU's priorities. Mr Jansa said his country acknowledged the seriousness of the migration problem, which, he said, was not only Malta's but also affected other Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Italy.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi expressed his happiness at Malta’s achievements; EU membership, accession to the Schengen area and euro adoption; describing the country as a close friend to Italy. The new step will now mean even closer cooperation. During talks with Dr Gonzi the issue of illegal immigration and possible future collaboration in this field were also discussed.

In his speech for the occasion, the Prime Minister Dr Lawrence Gonzi said it required courage to place the long-term interests of our economy above considerations of expediency and thanks to hard work together, today we are celebrating. Dr Gonzi thanked everyone who supported the country. “The Maltese people worked hard through the road less travelled that led us here today”, Dr Gonzi said.

He added that what is being celebrated goes beyond the change of a currency. Amongst other things he mentioned that Malta has met the rigorous Eurozone criteria while investing like never before in education and the environment. “We are celebrating today a nation that is not afraid to be ambitious in what it sets to achieve ... We are celebrating today a people that believes in its ability to succeed … These achievements are the foundations of the next successes we are determined to achieve for our country.” Mr Gonzi also described this important economic achievement as a start of a new journey.

He also referred to continued intense international competitive pressures and the economic and financial turmoil resulting from increasing commodity prices and the turbulence in the financial markets. Nonetheless, and despite these adverse conditions and difficulties, we look ahead, the Prime Minister held. “We believe in our people”.

Dr Gonzi said that Malta will also be following with particular attention the growth of the role of the Euro in the Mediterranean region as it comes to be increasingly used both as unit of exchange and as reserve currency. Cyprus is sharing with Malta this historic step. Thus, all European Union Member States along the Mediterranean coastline are in the Eurozone.

The Euro is a tool for stability, boosts investor confidence, eliminates the costs of exchanging money, facilitates trade integration, increases price transparency, and strengthens our European identity. It is a happy coincidence that we are also celebrating our joining of the Schengen Area, the Prime Minister added.

“The Euro is for the Maltese people a symbol of a nation and a people that is bold in its vision and capable of achieving its ambitions. It is a joy for us to be able to adopt the Euro as our own”, the Prime Minister concluded.

The Maltese have shown enthusiasm towards the new currency during the first days of 2008, with three out of every four Maltese citizens paying in euros after just 100 hours of the new currency adoption.

By Friday, 90 per cent of the Maltese were paying in euros, even if the lira will still be accepted in shops until the end of January. However, reports of inflated prices have since dominated media headlines.