The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament unanimously approved, on Monday evening, the report on Malta’s adoption of the euro even though there were “considerable reservations”.

The report, which was published by the European Commission in May, was approved by all 39 MEPs present, including Maltese MEPs Joseph Muscat and David Casa, in Strasbourg.

Among the reservations expressed in the report was the lack of data provided by Malta to Eurostat, as stated in a European Commission report dated 3 May.

The report said that Malta has repeatedly infringed the regulations on quarterly financial accounts for general government.

Furthermore, it added, the European Commission report stated clearly that “an immediate effort is necessary to comply with the EU regulation.”

The report questioned why the European Commission, “given its past experience”, still went ahead and made a positive recommendation on Malta’s membership of the eurozone in January 2008, even when “there has still been no perceptible progress in data provision.”

It called for these “objections to be fully overcome by the end of 2007 at the latest.”

The report also noted that the European Commission took long to submit the report, thus making it “hard to carry out an unreserved, objective examination of the convergence criteria.”

It added that objections were already raised on this issue, in the case of Slovenia and as “the question arises as to whether this was done deliberately.”

If this were the case, the report said, the European Parliament will have to “insist in the future on an appropriate consultation period.”

The report pointed out that no more documents and assessments have yet been submitted to “parliament and the EC relating to technical preparations for membership of the eurozone.”

As a result, it added, “it is not possible to assess whether (Malta’s) accession will actually be able to take place smoothly on 1 January 2008, taking into account adjustment arrangements and consumer rights.”

Finally, it concluded, “this is particularly clear in the case of Malta because the commission has issued only a conditional recommendation.”

The European Parliament will discuss the report during the plenary session, and a vote will be taken today.

The recommendation would then be discussed by the heads of state and government during a summit that will be held between Thursday and Friday, while the final decision will be taken during an Ecofin meeting on 10 July, when the EU finance ministers of the 13 countries already in the eurozone together with Malta’s minister will have to reach a formal unanimous decision.