By IANS
Brussels : European Union finance ministers have decided that Cyprus and Malta can adopt the euro as of Jan 1, 2008.
Following the decision taken Tuesday, 15 of the 27 EU member states will have the common European currency, euro, from January, reported news agency INEPNEXT.
"I am happy that Cyprus and Malta will adopt the euro, bringing to 15 countries and nearly 320 million the number of people who share the currency that has the vocation to be, one day, the sole currency of the European Union," said JoaquÃn Almunia, European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs.
The ministers also fixed the rates at which the Cypriot pound and the Maltese lira will be converted into the euro.
The Cyprus pound will be replaced at the rate of 0.585274 to the euro, and the Maltese lira will be replaced at 0.429300 to the euro.