European heads of state and officials of the highest level yesterday started arriving in Malta to participate in the official activities organised to mark Malta’s entry in the eurozone.

Maltese ministers and parliamentary secretaries welcomed the guests who started arriving in early afternoon. Among those who will be present at the celebrations are Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet, Cypriot Finance Minister Michalakis Sarris, French Parliamentary Secretary for EU affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Irish Finance Minister Brian Cowen, Lithuanian Finance Minister Rimantas Sadzius, Hungarian State Secretary Almos Kovacs, Portuguese Finance and Public Administration Minister Fernando Teixeira Dos Santos, EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary affairs Jose Joaquin Almunia, Dutch EU affairs Minister Frans Timmermans and the European commissioner responsible for Fisheries and Maritime affairs, Joe Borg.

Practically every EU country will be represented at ministerial level at the official activities, the first of which will be a luncheon at the President’s Palace in Attard.

The guests will also attend a concert at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, where the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Mro Michael Laus, will accompany soprano Miriam Gauci and tenor Joseph Calleja.

The various prime ministers and heads of EU institutions will then give a speech at the end of the concert, which will be followed by refreshments courtesy of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.