Most probably exactly a year from today, Malta would be changing over to the Euro. The final go ahead should come from Brussels in mid-2007.
Meanwhile, a poll has showed that the French are slowly turning against the euro. In fact, EUobserver reported that a majority of French people (52 percent) believe the switch to the euro five years ago was bad for their country.
The TNS-Sofres survey published by Le Pelerin magazine also suggests the French blame the common European currency for damaging economic growth (51 percent) and fuelling inflation (94 percent).
Some opinions held by the French, EUobserver reported, resemble those of their counterparts in other eurozone countries, five years after the euro coins and notes were introduced.
The poll showed that while a quarter of all French still think in francs "the whole time" when shopping, national currencies are used for calculations in major purchases most often by the Belgians (65 per cent), Dutch (57 per cent) and by Austrians (55 per cent), according to a Eurobarometer poll published ahead of the 5th anniversary.
In Portugal, Germany and Italy about half or less use the euro as a mental benchmark for small shopping such as in grocery stores - on the other hand, 91 percent of the Irish use the euro only for such calculations.
The special Eurobarometer poll, EUobserver reported, also suggested that the single currency is still influencing consumer habits across the eurozone with a third of citizens saying they buy less because of a fear of spending too much - but this number has dropped by 6 percent since 2005.
Altogether, the special survey found the lowest rate of approval for the euro since its introduction.
"While in 2002, 59 percent of the respondents in the eurozone thought that the new currency was overall advantageous for their country, currently only less than half of respondents hold such a favourable opinion," it concluded.
The euro is used in thirteen EU countries. Slovenia has become the 13th EU member state to introduce the euro, ditching its national currency on January 1.
Malta’s average annual inflation rate in November stood at 2.8% according to a Eurostat report released earlier this month. Indicating that it is 0.3% lower than the required euro entry rate, the figure also brings Malta a step closer to adopting the euro currency in January 2008.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Bulgaria and Romania officially joined the EU family bringing the enlargement to 27 countries.
See also:
Inflation falls below euro entry reference rate
By MaltaMedia News - Dec 16, 2006, 11:10 CET
Bulgaria and Romania to join the EU family
By MaltaMedia News - Dec 29, 2006, 09:10 CET
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