Malta takes centre stage in Brussels

Cheesecakes, or pastizzi, children with little red and white flags and dancers dressed in the traditional ghonnella yesterday dominated the esplanade in front of the Berlymont, the European Commission's headquarters in Brussels, in a one-hour event organised by the Commission to mark Malta's entry into the euro.

An oversized blow-up of the new Maltese and Cypriot euro coins dominated one side of the 16-storey building, dominating the view from Rond Point Schuman, the heart of the EU quarter in Brussels.

Although this festive event was marked by speeches from the main political personalities, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris and Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joachim Almunia, the event was dominated by children, mainly Cypriots, with their faces depicted in Maltese, Cypriot and euro colours and holding large replicas of the new Maltese and Cypriot euro coins.

The celebrations continued in the afternoon with an event organised at Dar Malta, the Maltese permanent representation of the EU, where an exhibition about the history of the Maltese coin was inaugurated by the Prime Minister.

The exhibition, co-organised with the Central Bank, includes all the Maltese coins from the bronze age. It also shows for the first time the new Maltese euro coins.

Works by Maltese artists, Luciano Micallef, Marco Cremona and Gabrial Caruana, are on show at Dar Malta for the occasion.