Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos takes the first euro banknotes from an ATM machine at the finance ministry in Nicosia. The Mediterranean island states of Cyprus and Malta have welcomed in the new year with a new currency, taking the number of countries now using the euro to 15.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    NICOSIA, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Mediterranean countries Cyprus and Malta on Tuesday embraced the euro as their new legal tender with outdoor celebrations, with the adoption bringing the number of countries using the currency to fifteen.

    At a midnight ceremony held in Cyprus's capital Nicosia, President Tassos Papadopoulos cut a cake and withdrew euro bank notes from an automated teller machine (ATM) at the country's Finance Ministry.

    Papadopoulos said the adoption of the euro is not simply a change of the national currency, but also "a change of the way of life, the crown of our European identity, the culmination of a correct fiscal policy."

    Only the southern, Greek-speaking part of Cyprus will adopt the new currency, but many Turkish Cypriot businessmen said they would like to accept euros along with Turkish lira.

    Cyprus joined the European Union (EU) in May, 2004 as one of the smallest economies in the euro zone, contributing 0.17 percent to the area's gross domestic product (GDP) and 0.24 percent to its population.

    In 2006, Cyprus' per capita GDP was 92 percent of the EU average.

    A fireworks display was staged in Malta's capital Valletta. "We are the smallest member state of the European Union, but we are proud," said Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

    But he waited a little longer to get the new currency, as the ATM did not work when he tried to withdraw the bank notes, and the prime minister had to use a different machine.

    Cyprus and Malta secured their membership in the single currency club after fulfilling criteria laid down in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, which focus on the achievement of a "high degree of sustainable convergence" in such fields as inflation, fiscal deficit, public debt, exchange rate stability, long-term interest rate and legal convergence.

    However, many ordinary Cypriots and Maltese are worried about possible price hikes as in some other EU countries when they adopted the single currency.

    In September, a EU poll found that 74 percent of Cypriots and 65 percent of Maltese believe the euro will drive prices upward. The survey also found that 44 percent of Cypriots and 33 percent of Maltese would be sorry to see their national currencies being replaced.

    All EU member states are eligible to join the euro zone. Besides Cyprus and Malta, there are currently 13 euro zone member states -- Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Slovenia.