Maltese language body coins the 'ewro'

The introduction of the euro in Malta is at least two years away but there seems to be disagreement over how the name of the single currency should be spelled.

According to a report by the Council for the Maltese Language, the single currency should be called ewro in Maltese. However, a spokesman for the National Euro Changeover Committee (NECC) - appointed by the government to handle the preparations leading to the adoption of the currency - said the position of the Council for the Maltese Language is not shared by the committee.

"We still have to make a formal decision on the way we should be referring to the euro. This is a decision which has to be made by the government and at present we are still studying the issue."

According to EU rules, Malta cannot unilaterally adopt a Maltese version of the European currency's name, as is being proposed by the Maltese language council.

Malta is obliged to use the term euro in all its legal texts including the Maltese version of the currency. Thus any changes would have to be negotiated with the EU and Commission sources told The Times it will be very difficult to obtain any concessions in this regard.

The European Central Bank (ECB) said a decision was made by EU leaders in 1997 that the term euro should be used by all member states with the exception of Greece which was given an opt-out due to its different alphabet.

Malta is not the only EU member state where there are divergent opinions on the matter. On Tuesday, the Latvian government decided to call the single European currency the eiro, despite appeals by the ECB to stick to the official euro. Latvia's Education Minister, Ina Druviete, said her country is ready to take the issue even to the European Court of Justice if pushed to change its position.

"The eu diphthong is alien to the Latvian language. We don't have such a sound and so we will use eiro," she said.

The Latvian Minister cited Malta as an example in justifying her government's position and said Malta had already announced it will be using the word ewro. "I praise small, brave Malta, which also staunchly defends its identity in the EU," the minister said.

However, this was immediately refuted by the NECC spokesman who said the Latvian Minister had got it wrong because the Maltese government has still to adopt its formal position.

Asked when the final decision will be made, the NECC spokesman would only say that "the decision will take into account the recommendations and decisions by the European Commission and the European Central Bank".