Parliament backs Cyprus and Malta for euro membership

While there was overwhelming support for the applications from Cyprus (585 in favour, 14 against, 90 abstentions) and Malta (610 in favour, 12 against, 74 abstentions), MEPs were concerned that the timetable they were being asked to follow in adopting their opinion was too short. To avoid this happening in future, they adopted - by 552 votes in favour to 37 against and 43 abstentions - a separate resolution urging the Commission and Council to come to a formal inter-institutional agreement with Parliament with a view to ensuring MEPs have at least two months to consider proposals to enlarge the euro area.  They ask that Member States announce their intention of making a formal request to adopt the euro by at the latest the autumn of the year before doing so, and to seek early contact with Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.  They want he Commission to draw up an interim convergence report by the beginning of the year after this pre-announcement, and that steps are taken to ensure the reliability to statistical data presented by the Member States Finally, they insist that any excessive deficit procedure concerning a Member State should be closed before it's compliance with the convergence criteria is formally assessed.

 

While Parliament's opinions on euro area enlargement are only advisory, the Council cannot take its formal decision until MEPs have adopted their resolution.  EU leaders are set to make the political decision on Cyprus and Malta at their summit this week, with the necessary legislation being adopted by Finance Ministers at the 10 July meeting of the ECOFIN Council.

 

The main criteria set out in the treaty for entering the euro area are to have appropriately adapted all the relevant national legislation and to be in line with the convergence criteria covering inflation, national debt, budget deficits and interest rates.  The applicant’s currency should also have been in the Exchange Rate Mechanism II for over two years.