Alex P. Galea (TMID, 3 April) chose to expose only one side of the story.

First of all, the Maltese lira value was arbitrary. It does not mean that Malta took advantage and floated the lira as it deemed fit, since the value was regulated by a calculation based on a basket of currencies. Therefore if those currencies fluctuated, so did the lira when compared to the sterling and other currencies.

Mr Galea should know that Britain has the same opportunity to join the eurozone, assuming that it complies with the Maastricht criteria but sheer obstinacy, perhaps, prevents the move any time soon.

The currency exchange to euro and back is already costing the British – both as tourists and traders – millions, if not billions, each year. They seem to want to cope with the inconvenience and who are we to argue?

Mr. Galea is right, however, that we should not rely – as heavily as we did up to now – on the British tourist influx. Already there are signs of more tourists coming from the eurozone area, although the fact that diminishing numbers from Britain are not as significant, yet. It is also worth noting that Malta would have been unwise to hang on to the lira simply to make it more attractive to tourists coming from outside the eurozone.

Joe Martinelli

London, Ontario

Canada