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Two Mediterranean island states, Cyprus and Malta, have begun using the euro, joining 13 other countries.The countries' leaders made symbolic withdrawals of euros from cash machines just minutes into the New Year.Major bank branches opened for a few hours in Cyprus despite the New Year holiday.The Maltese celebrated the euro's arrival with fireworks.Cyprus and Malta have added just 1.2 million people to the number of Europeans using the single currency.But they will have equal voting rights with the other 13 eurozone members at the European Central Bank.Careful preparations
Both island nations prepared for the changeover thoroughly.In Cyprus 300,000 currency converters were sent to households, while in Malta a euro telephone hotline has been running alongside 59 "euro centres".The switchover in Cyprus will highlight the decades-old division between the south and the Turkish-controlled north of the island.The Turkish lira remains the primary currency in northern Cyprus, which is outside the European Union and is recognised only by Turkey.But Cyprus' euro coins are inscribed in both Greek and Turkish.Aware of the previous experiences of some other eurozone members, Cyprus and Malta are watching retailers to ensure they do not use the changeover to round up their prices, contributing to inflation. The Cypriot government urged companies to round their prices down, while Malta signed 12 price stabilisation agreements with importers, which will last until March 2008.Both the Maltese lira and the Cyprus pound will be legal tender until the end of January.Commercial banks in Malta will exchange Maltese lira into euros free of charge until the end of March, and the central bank will allow exchange of lira notes until 2018.In Cyprus, euros can be exchanged free of charge until the end of June and the central bank will allow exchange of pound notes until 2017.
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