Malta passes the euro test with flying colours

"It was an excellent day for Malta yesterday [Wednesday, May, 16th]" exclaims the Maltese columnist Eddie Aquilina, concerning the green light that has been given to Malta and Cyprus to enter the Eurozone in January 2008. "We've made it to the premier league within the European Union, the euro club, pending a decision by the EU Council of Ministers that usually follows the Commission's advice. The reports published yesterday by the European Commission and the European Central Bank show that Malta has a low government deficit, a decreasing public debt, a stable currency, low inflation and interest rates lower than the EU countries with the lowest inflation. The Commission's advice is that we have sound public finances and a growing economy prepared to adopt the euro. A round of applause is definitely in order. ... Amid the doom often peddled in the press in Malta, it seems foreign officials are more positive about Malta than several Maltese columnists."

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