The law of the Euro : constitutive, institutional and external aspects

Abstract

Malta joined the euro area on 1 January 2008. It did so under a new framework that is substantially different from that used by the countries that joined before it,3 as they adopted the euro legally first, and in cash form only after a transitional period. When Malta joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, by the same act it also joined the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as a member of EMU with a derogation. Becoming a full member of the single currency area may be summed up legally as the removal of this derogation. In fact, by means of the Treaty of Accession, Malta undertook to converge with the Maastricht criteria and EMU acquis to achieve full EMU membership and the adoption of the euro – thus implying the removal of that derogation.