- Malta joins ERM II

The Government of Malta and the Central Bank of Malta announced that Malta has today joined ERM II. The Malta Lira is now 100% pegged to the Euro. Previously the Malta Lira was pegged to a basket of 3 currencies (the Euro, UK Sterling and US Dollar) with weightings of circa 70%, 20% and 10% respectively. The Malta Lira entered ERM II at the central parity rate of MTL/EUR 0.42930 (EUR/MTL 2.329373), which was the exchange rate prevailing last Friday 29 April. Malta will adhere to the rules and regulations of the mechanism, which include the observation of a standard fluctuation band around the central parity rate. At the same time, however, in order to retain the same stability and benefits of a fixed exchange rate regime enjoyed in the past, the Maltese Authorities have decided to maintain the MTL/EUR rate unchanged during the ERM II phase at the central parity level of 0.42930. Those wishing to know more about Malta’s strategy for participating in the Economic and Monetary Union and the adoption of the Euro could read through the strategy document published a few days ago. This document is either available from us by email upon request or can be downloaded from the website of the Central Bank of Malta (www.centralbankmalta.com) or the Ministry of Finance website at www.mfin.gov.mt. The document presents the joint views of the Government of Malta and the Central Bank of Malta on the issues involved in the EMU process. It focuses, in particular, on the policy areas that have to be addressed to enable the country to achieve monetary integration.