He said that it was important that the Maastricht criteria is met before Malta could join the single currency and that the government was working hard to curb the budget deficit and public debt to acceptable levels.

The Parliamentary Secretary revealed that a strategy had already been formulated between the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank with regard to the transition to ERM II (Exchange Rate Mechanism) and that this was being presented to Cabinet shortly.

Mr Fenech added that the implementation of such a strategy was for the short and medium term and that the government’s commitment to achieve the targets required for ERM II was paramount. This goes hand in hand with increasing the country’s competitiveness and a better quality of life for the Maltese nation.

Mr Fenech said the conference was the first step towards a civilised and fruitful debate on the adoption of the Euro. He stressed that businesses and other institutions should be pro-active in preparing for this paradigm shift.

The advantages of a single currency include price stability, a reduction in hedging costs and the elimination of exchange rates together with the facilitation of international trade.

Mr Fenech added that the Maltese government is confident it will achieve the conditions set down by the Maastricht criteria, that include price stability, an improvement in the government budgetary position and interest rate convergence.

He called on the business community to gear up for the change in mindset that was required to adopt the Euro and gave significant hints that a major communications campaign will shortly be underway to influence the public on this highly important fiscal issue.

Mr Fenech said he was confident that the Malta Business Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce and the MHRA would be working to convince their members of the wealth of opportunities that a single currency may bring to our economy, not least the creation of jobs and a better quality of life together with economic growth.

Mr Fenech said that although we have a habit of resisting change, a change in mentality remains all important with such a huge upheaval in the country’s economic life. He added that this conference was the first step in the right direction that would eventually lead to the adoption of the Euro and, consequently, a paradigm shift in our monetary culture.