Malta and Cyprus, who also joins the euro zone on Tuesday, have together added 1.2 million people to the number of Europeans using the single currency and will have equal voting rights with the other 13 eurozone members at the European Central Bank.

The Prime Minister withdrew the first euros from a Bank of Valletta ATM at the Valletta Waterfront using a commemorative BOV Platinum Card. During the official ceremony, the Governor of the Central Bank, Parliamentary Secretary Tonio Fenech as well as the Chairman of the NECC, Joseph F. X. Zahra and NECC’s Executive Director, Alan Camilleri also withdraw euros from the ATM.

In a media statement published Tuesday morning, the European Central Bank (ECB) welcomed this further enlargement of the euro area. As a result of the adoption of the euro by Malta and Cyprus who joined on the same day, the central banks of both island nations are now full members of the Eurosystem, with the same rights and obligations as the 13 national central banks of the other EU Member States that have adopted the euro.

"The adoption of the euro is a historic event for Cyprus and Malta, which join the euro area only four years after they became members of the European Union. Welcome and Good Luck', said Joaquín Almunia, European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs. He added: "The euro is a strong and stable currency which has brought most of the 13 countries that already share it their lowest inflation for at least five decades and very favourable interest rates. But as Cyprus and Malta embark on what is admittedly the most tangible aspect of EU integration, they must also remember that euro area membership requires a continued commitment to sound public finances and structural reforms to be able to flourish in, and reap the benefits of, monetary union".

The June 2007 European Council welcomed the adoption of the euro by Cyprus and Malta in January 2008, after the Commission concluded in Convergence Reports adopted a month earlier that they met the qualifying Maastricht criteria. The formal decision was taken by the ECOFIN Council in July, including the decision on the conversion rate. The Cyprus pound corresponds to € 1.71 and one Maltese lira to € 2.33. Since that date, both countries have completed and finalised their practical preparations which should ensure them a smooth changeover to the euro.

In Malta, the supply of euro cash to banks started in mid-September, after the Central Bank received the coins ordered from the Monnaie de Paris, the French mint. The euro banknotes were borrowed from Eurosystem stocks, via the Bank of Italy.

Since December, banks have been delivering euro cash to retailers and other businesses, so that they can also give change in euro as from 1 January. Citizens have been able to acquire one or more of the 330,000 euro coin mini-kits on offer since 10 December.

Banks will be closed on 1st January, but at least 60% of the 154 ATMs operated in Malta will have been programmed to dispense euro banknotes at 0.00 on 1 January, while the remaining 40% will gradually follow over the course of the day, the whole conversion operation being completed by 4 p.m. As in the case of Cyprus, they will dispense only small euro denominations to begin with.

On 2 and 3 January, banks will devote their business to over-the-counter business with the public for cash deposits, foreign currency exchange and exchange into euro.

Until the end of March 2008, commercial banks will exchange Maltese lira cash into euro free of charge, in unlimited amounts for their customers and up to MTL 250 for non-customers. The Central Bank will continue to exchange Maltese lira coins and notes until 1 February 2010 and 2018, respectively.

The dual circulation period, during which legacy currency may still be used for payment in parallel with the euro, ends, as it does in Cyprus, on January 31st.