The big freeze hits Cyprus

Plummeting temperatures, snow and cold blasts of wind mean few will escape the cold in Cyprus today.

The Met Office have warned that most of the island will remain below 10oC today, with -5oC in Troodos.

Nicosia is feeling the big chill with temperatures of just 5oC today and a freezing -1oC expected tonight.In addition to the cold, winds are expected to reach gale force in some areas.

Troodos is now covered with 20cm of snow.

Gerhard Shroeder to visit occupied Cyprus

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Shroeder will arrive in Turkish occupied northern Cyprus on Friday as guest of the so-called 'Prime Minister' Ferdi Sabit Soyer.

Mr Shroeder will fly to the occupied areas with a private plane according to BRT.Mr Shroder will be received by Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

He will also come together with representatives of the Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Commerce. On the second day of his visit, Mr Shroeder and Soyer will hold a joint press conference.

Only three days to run for the Cyprus pound

WITH only three days to go until its final demise, around £200 million worth of Cyprus pounds are still in circulation, the Central Bank said yesterday.

According to Kyriacos Zingas, a senior official at the Central Bank, £500 million worth have been taken out of circulation since the adoption of the euro, but not all have been returned.

“There are some still in the pipeline at the banks, but 75 per cent of notes have been returned to the Central Bank,” said Zingas.

“There are still £27 million in coins out there and £180 million in notes.”

Zingas said it would be impossible to determine how much was circulating in euros. He said the Central Bank had put €1 billion into circulation, roughly the same amount that had been circulating in Cyprus pounds, £650 million.

But people would have brought in euros from other EU countries as well, so it would not be possible to determine the exact amount currently circulating, he said. Zingas said disposal of the Cypriot currency had already begun. He said there was a special depo where the coins were defaced by a machine to make them unusable.

He said if all of the coins were returned, they would weigh 2,000 tonnes.When the coins, made from a copper alloy, have been defaced, they will be sold as scrap. Zingas said there was good money in copper at the moment.

The notes, he said, would be shredded after they were counted and authenticated. This had already begun as well, Zingas said.

“This will all take a few months,” he added.

When all the notes are in, they will number 80 million, he added. The public will still be able to change their Cyprus notes at the banks free of charge until the end of June, and at the Central Bank until the end of 2017.

Earlier yesterday, Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said transactions in euros had now reached 95 per cent

“Our initial optimism has been confirmed in that two or three days before the expiration of the dual circulation period, the euro is almost the exclusive currency in Cyprus,” he said.

However, he did say there were some instances where people were still using Cyprus pounds.

“Of course, cases exist of individuals who somehow find it difficult to carry out transactions in euros and deal with pounds instead,” Sarris said.

Asked what was the chance that people would continue to deal in pounds after Thursday, the Minster said the possibility did exist but was remote. He said the banks had already changed their reserves into euros so it would be hard to find anyone with Cyprus pounds.

Baghdatis Speaks

A week of headlines finally took their toll Marcos Baghdatis, who had endured calls for his explosion from the tournament because of alleged racial comments, with the Cypriot visibly wilting against Lleyton Hewitt, losing a five set epic that ended at 4:35am on Sunday.

Baghdatis needed several minutes of treatment early in the third set after rolling his right ankle, however the fifteenth seed acknowledged front page stories of him and his cousin, who was involved in Tuesday’s capsicum spray incident, were major factors in his demise.

“I had pain, but they gave me four painkillers, at the end I was a bit tired, but not because of the ankle, because of all the stress I had,” Baghdatis said

“I had my chances to break him first (in the fifth set). I didn’t, and he did. He deserves to win. He played better than me in the important points.”

The 2006 Australian Open finalist was a picture of emotions through the early morning skirmish with Australia’s number one player. Baghdatis exploded in the first set with three gigantic shrieks after winning consecutive points, while he slumped after losing the third set.

Down 1-5 in the fourth and seemingly moments away from defeat, his trademark smile suddenly appeared, changing the course of the match.

“I started to forget the result. I was a bit stressed out even from the beginning of the match.

“By relaxing, by trying to change the rhythm of Lleyton, just playing drop shots, I start changing everything and it worked.”

Baghdatis had been the victim of a horror draw, with this morning’s thriller preceded by a five-setter against 2005 champion Marat Safin, while 2002 finalist Thomas Johansson was the fifteenth seed’s opening opponent.

“I came out with so many good emotions. I had really so much fun and the crowd was great. It is tough, but it’s a positive thing. I love the game.”

Had Baghdatis survived this test, he would have had 36 hours to get ready for Serbian Novak Djokovic, who has barely broken a sweat this week. So, can Hewitt possibly compete with the world number 3?

“Oh, for sure. He works out. If I was in his place I would recover, so I think he would,” Baghdatis said.

Hewitt edges Baghdatis in thriller

Lleyton Hewitt advanced to the last 16 of the Australian Open after surviving a five-set thriller on an epic day at the Australian Open which saw play continue until 4.34am local time.

The match began at 11.51pm on Saturday night due to world number one Roger Federer's five-set epic with Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic, finishing deep into Sunday morning after Hewitt drew on every ounce of his trademark fighting spirit to prevail 4-6 7-5 7-5 6-7 (4/7) 6-3.

The match should have finished in the fourth set but 19th seed Hewitt squandered a match-point, two breaks of serve and a 5-1 advantage, much to the amazement of Baghdatis and the Rod Laver Arena crowd.

Hewitt fell to his knees and collapsed onto the famous centre-court surface after securing the exhausting and emotional contest with a forehand that teased the baseline.

The two-time grand slam winner then warmly embraced his vanquished foe at the net, before soaking up the thunderous reception.

Baghdatis overcame what looked a serious ankle injury early in the third set to mount numerous courageous comebacks. Out on his feet, the Cypriot wiped away tears as he headed up the tunnel to a standing ovation of his own.

Hewitt described the win - which books him a place in the fourth round against Novak Djokovic - as one of his most memorable and brave.

"In a lot of ways it was not only a physical battle but a mental battle for both of us," Hewitt said.
"Having a match-point and serving for it a couple of times in the fourth set (without success), but being able to bounce back as strong as I did and put that all behind me in the fifth, mentally this will go down as one of my best wins."

Baghdatis was proud of his performance but shattered by the defeat. "It is tough, but it's a positive thing. I love the game," Baghdatis said. "It's another time that I went out there, I lost the match, but I came out with so many good emotions."

Marcos Baghdatis defiant over anti-Turk chant video

Marcos Baghdatis today refused to apologise after a video emerged showing him chanting anti-Turkish slogans with the Greek supporters’ group involved in crowd trouble at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

In the video Baghdatis, a Greek Cypriot, is shown chanting “Turks Out of Cyprus” after a rendition of the Greek national anthem at a barbeque held by the Hellas Fan Club, whose members were involved in scuffles earlier this week that saw police use pepper spray to control rowdy supporters.

The 2006 Australian Open finalist was shown with one of the alleged ring-leaders, who has been banned fro the rest of the tournament.

It was also reported that Baghdatis is the cousin of one of the supporters ejected from Melbourne Park after the disruption at the game between Konstantinos Economidis, of Greece, and Fernando Gonzalez, of Chile. Police removed ten people and arrested three.

Baghdatis’s actions were condemned by a Turkish Cypriot group in Australia. Hakki Suleyman, president of the Australian Turkish Cypriot Cultural and Welfare Association, said:

“This is a straight-forward provocation of our community and he is playing a different game to sport, he is not being a sportsman and should apologise.”

In a statement, Baghdatis, the world No 16, said:

“In that video from 2007 I was supporting the interest of my country, Cyprus, while protesting against a situation that is not recognized by the United Nations.

“Now I would like to concentrate on the tournament and ask everyone to respect that. I love the Australian Open and want to do well here."

While the UN does not recognize the autonomy of the Turkish area of northern Cyprus, Greek-Cypriots voted against a UN-brokered settlement in a 2004 referendum.

Cyprus has been divided between the Greek Cypriot majority and the Turkish minority since 1974, when Turkey resisted a Greek attempt to win total control of the island.

Ethnic tensions arose at the Australian Open last year when Croatian supporters clashed with Serbian fans on the opening day of the tournament.

Nine candidates bidding for Cyprus' presidency

Cyprus' President Tassos Papadopoulos and eight other candidates on Friday officially registered as candidates for February's presidential elections, the Chief Returning Officer announced.

Papadopoulos, along with Parliament Speaker, General Secretary of the left-wing AKEL Demetris Christofias and right-wing backed former Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides are the three most prominent candidates.

But recent polls have shown that none of them will win in the first round scheduled for Feb. 17, and a second round is expected to take place on Feb. 24, with the two leading candidates facing off in a final showdown.

The debates between the three candidates so far have focused on how to solve the decades-long Cyprus issue.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey militarily intervened and occupied the north of the island following a coup by a group of Greek officers who pushed for union with Greece.

Matsakis lays out options for Cyprus solution

M.E.P. and presidential candidate Marios Matsakis yesterday laid out his options for a solution to the Cyprus problem, saying bold action and brave decisions were needed by all concerned.

The plan, due to be made public today at a news conference, refers to the preferred option of a one-state solution, the two-state solution, which he calls the option “of last resort” and the “unacceptable option” of a bi-zonal bi-communal federation such as the Annan plan “or anything like it”.

“Inevitably, compromises will have to be accepted by all sides involved in the problem. But, it should be borne in mind that the benefits of a fair-for-all solution far outweigh the possible disadvantages of any individual side concessions,” Matsakis said in a statement.

His aim, he said, was to attempt to move the Cyprus problem out of its present stalemate and urgently start a constructive debate.

Matsakis caused a stir last year when he suggested it was time the issue of a two-state solution in Cyprus was discussed out in the open, given the reality on the ground, and the type of solutions being put forward by the international community.

He said the Annan plan was so bad, partition would be better.In his newly-laid-out options, Matsakis said the preferred option would be a one-state solution by means of a return to the 1960 Constitutional Order, with gradual implementation of certain, mutually agreed changes between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, under the guidance, supervision, advice and necessary guarantees of the UN and the EU.

“All attempts must be made for the acceptance by all concerned of the unquestionable value, legality and urgent need for this option,” said Matsakis.

The second 20-point option of a two-state solution would include recognition of the ‘TRNC’ and Turkey’s recognition of Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots would control an area corresponding to the size of its population in 1974.

It would then enter the EU.

Famagusta and Morphou would be returned to the new Republic of Cyprus and the whole island would be demilitarised, and the right to property and residence would apply to both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot refugees, while settlers would be compensated to leave the island.

Compensation to both communities for property should be met by the UN, the EU and the G8, Matsakis said.He also suggests that both the ‘new’ Republic of Cyprus and the TRNC become members of NATO but excluding the stationing of either Greek or Turkish forces on the island.

Long unhappy about the British bases, Matsakis said all non clearly military areas would be returned to the Republic of Cyprus with the exception of a small area in the Pergamos region, which would be returned to the TRNC.

“If such a plan is chosen freely by both communities in Cyprus, it will of course have to be expanded, scrutinised and finalised in detail by a process of comprehensive discussion and agreement by constitutional/legal experts and political and civil society representatives of all sides involved,” said Matsakis.

“It is to be noted that this plan is not ideal but is a compromise solution that may, with good will and resolve, lead to the much needed peace, security and prosperity for all the Cypriots.”

Matsakis saves his last word for the bi-zonal bi-communal federation solution, which to him is the most unacceptable.

“This type of divisive plan is considered to be extremely expensive and wasteful to implement, grossly unfair to many Cypriot citizens, dramatically contradictory to International Law and EU Principles, exceptionally dysfunctional and evidently non-viable,” he said.

“Furthermore, it is feared that it cannot resolve the Cyprus issue but it will make it more complicated and more problematic. Such outcome will inevitably lead to more intercommunal friction and bloodshed.”

ECHR thrown into the campaign ring

POLITICIANS yesterday continued to use the implications of a pending European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decision on a land swap between a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot to take swipes at each other in the run-up to next month’s presidential elections.

AKEL spokesman Andros Kyprianou said the island was at risk of having the ECHR recognise the land swap between Mike Tymvios, a Greek Cypriot refugee with extensive property in the north, and a Turkish Cypriot with land in the free areas.

The deal was made through the controversial property commission in the north and if approved by the ECHR would result in thousands of Greek Cypriots refugees being told to apply to it for a solution to their property issues, Kyprianou said.

“It is absolutely clear that we are also at risk of the final collapse of the Guardian of the Turkish Cypriot Property, with catastrophic consequences,” he said.

In a clear dig at the government and its handling of the issue, the AKEL deputy said the left-wing party had long been warning that with every new decision the ECHR was moving one step closer to recognising the property commission in the north.

What could not be overlooked, he added, was that the Cyprus problem was a political one and as such the property issue could only be dealt with as part of a solution to the Cyprus problem.But DIKO deputy leader George Kolokasides ruled out the possibility that the ECHR would recognise the property commission, “at least at this stage”.

He said the fact that 36 Greek Cypriots’ cases against Turkey had been accepted by the ECHR was a clear indication that the commission had not been accepted as an adequate domestic remedy to property issues.

“This is a huge issue and I think there are also personal responsibilities. There are national obligations which we all share as responsible people in the Cyprus Republic.They are not all responsibilities at government level. The government cannot start compensating everyone who knocks on its door to avoid appeals being made to the ECHR. What the government does is to fight for its corner at the ECHR but not to start sharing out money so as to avoid the possibility of a decision being made,” he said.

Tymvios wrote to the government asking for financial aid prior to resorting to the property commission in the north. The refugee was frustrated at being unable to secure a loan to pay off family debts using €42.72 million worth of land in the occupied areas as collateral.Kolokasides’ comments come in the wake of criticism that the government could have expropriated Tyvmios’ land in the north and then compensated him, in which case there would never have been a land swap.

Nevertheless, Kyprianou said the government was making much of the 36 cases when “unfortunately it is a clear attempt from the government camp to give a triumphant slant to what is a positive development, but which is not a new one”.

He added: “The ECHR accepted the appeals a while ago. It is not a new development. What has happened now is the Court has demanded that by January 28 the lawyers submit possible ‘new developments’ that the Court should take into account. In each case, we welcome any positive developments but we call on all to set aside unnecessary and damaging pre-election bragging.”

Commenting on President Tassos Papadopoulos’ comments that the Tymvios case was a unique and specific case, AKEL Central Committee member Toumazos Tselepis said “of course this case is unique the way all cases are unique but we all understand the possible developments in relation to this case”.

Tselepis said: “[It is perfectly clear] that we risk of having the property commission accepted and the collapse of the Guardian with all the unfavourable consequences that spring from that.”

Costas Efstathiou of EDEK said the case raised a series of serious issues, particularly regarding the Guardian of Turkish Cypriot properties.

“It has to be pointed out that it is Turkey that is being called to suggest a settlement, a fact that indicates the occupied areas and the infamous so-called property commission’s full dependence on and submission to Turkey,” he said.

Ikea sparks new row in Cyprus politics

Ever since Ikea began expanding outside Scandinavia in the 1970s, it's been a retail chain unlike all others.

Its popularity with shoppers has often caused frenzied behaviour. At a midnight store opening in North London three years ago, a man was stabbed in the queue of shoppers vying to be the first in.

The year before, in Saudi Arabia, three men died in a stampede to claim a number of vouchers being given out free.

But now, demand for its ranges of household furniture with the unpronounceable names has caused a different sort of collateral damage.

This time, it has exposed tensions at one of the world's most sensitive diplomatic hotspots.
The story begins in September 2007, when Ikea opened its first outlet in Cyprus, in a business park on the edge of the capital, Nicosia.

And for the free-spending Cypriots, it's been like a red rag to a bull ever since.
The car park is rammed every weekend, the slip roads in and out jammed with vehicles.
Cross-border appeal

However, it's not just people in the south of the island who came flocking to the store when it opened. The Turkish Cypriots in the north did too.

And despite the beaurocratic hassles of coming through the UN buffer zone just to go shopping, you can understand why they have.

The northern Cypriot "state" is not officially recognised by any country except Turkey, so trade from abroad is restricted. Drive around and you'll see few western brand names (though a Nike store has opened in the last few weeks).

There's often little choice, and what there is, is pricey.

At a restaurant in the Turkish side of Nicosia, diners told me this made furnishing a house or an office both expensive and difficult.

So when the Swedish knights in blue and yellow invaded the small Mediterranean island, many northern Cypriots said, "Hallelujah."

Cheap branded goods to furnish our homes right on our doorstep, just a few miles away, they thought.

The currency they use, the Turkish lira, has also strengthened in the last year, after decades of devaluation, so their purchasing power for southern Cypriot goods has suddenly, and unexpectedly, improved.

Import rules

The trouble is, as is so often the case here, international politics has got in the way of a good deal.

There's a UN-administered buffer zone in between them and the store, with some very eagle-eyed customs officers on both sides of it.

And when the Turkish ones spot Ikea bags, these get special treatment and are often confiscated.

That's because of a rather odd rule that's started to be enforced recently. To bring household furniture into Northern Cyprus, even a 10-euro lamp from Ikea, you need an import licence.
An official from the Turkish Cypriot Ministry of Finance explained the rules to me.

Any resident of Northern Cyprus coming across from the south can bring in most types of goods worth up to 135 euros without incurring financial penalties. This covers your personal belongings, items you bought for yourself and gifts for others.

Anything over the 135-euro level, you have to pay 30% tax. So when the Ikea opened in September, people thought they'd be OK as long as they didn't spend over the limit.

Soon after, hundreds of people started crossing the buffer zone back into the North with the blue-and-yellow bags full of goodies to fill their house with.

However, after a few weeks, those same shoppers were getting searched and their purchases taken away. Why, if an import licence was only needed for electronic goods?

Competition

At the start of December, the minister of finance "clarified" the situation. He said a licence was now also need for household furnishings too, whatever the value.

To get one, you need to apply to the ministry of trade in Northern Cyprus in advance of your shopping trip, and it's by no means certain you will get one.

Most Northern Cypriot fans of the store have now given up on going to Ikea.

Many are suspicious about the motives for the effective ban. One theory is that the authorities have given in to pressure from businesses in the North who've been used to little, if any, competition.

And given the amount people often spend in Ikea, perhaps these retailers have cause to be concerned about just how much business they could lose to the chain.

Ikea isn't popular with everyone, of course. Some design purists complain its styles are slowly encroaching into every living room, making every house across the world look the same.

Perhaps these people should consider visiting Northern Cyprus in 2008, because, for the time being at least, there's little danger of the trend spreading here.

Cyprus Church to take Turkey to ECHR

The Cyprus Church intends to take Turkey to the European Court of Human Rights for preventing the restoration of looted Orthodox churches in the northern Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus and for its continuing refusal to allow access to the Christian Orthodox pilgrims for worship.

The Primate of the Church, Archbishop Chrysostomos B’, has said that he will raise the issue to the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, during his visit to Cyprus next week and then continue the efforts through the Church of Cyprus office, which will open soon in Brussels.

The Church will subsequently set up a team of legal experts to help prepare its case before the Court.In an interview with the Radio Station of the Church of Greece, the Archbishop noted that “there are churches in the occupied areas, which are half destroyed, some have collapsed, others were demolished and most recently a church in the Karpass peninsula was razed to the ground”.

He expressed fears that “if restoration is not allowed to start soon the churches will begin to collapse one after the other.”

“We have reached a very dangerous point, we are not asking for anything more than the restoration of our human rights and we will fight for them”, the Archbishop said, adding that the occupation authorities do not allow the Church to send priests to the Monastery of Apostolos Andreas, situated on the rocky coast in the easternmost point of the Karpas peninsula. It was built in 1867.

“The Turks want to uproot everything Greek and Christian in the occupied areas, we will fight with all our strength to prevent this from happening”, Archbishop Chrysostomos said.

In 1974 Turkey launched a military invasion of Cyprus. In the immediate aftermath until today what has been taking place is large scale damage to churches, historic churches have been seized, stripped and whitewashed and converted into mosques.

In most of the Orthodox graveyards not a single tombstone has remained standing.There are about 500 Greek Orthodox churches in the northern Turkish occupied part of Cyprus.

Drought-hit Cyprus eyes water imports

Drought-stricken Cyprus may import water from Greece to cover a shortage that has forced the government to ration supplies to farmers, its agriculture minister said on Wednesday.

The Mediterranean island has seen little rainfall this winter, marking the fourth consecutive year of drought. Reservoirs are less than 10 percent full.

The decision to bring water in sea tankers from the Greek island of Crete would depend on the weather over the next two months, but the outlook for rain was not promising, Agriculture Minister Photis Photiou said.

"It's January 9. It's supposed to be winter, and it feels like summer," he told Reuters.

"It is not an easy job (to import water). We looked at this option seven or eight years ago and the costs at the time were very high. Some problems in that respect have now been solved."

Water shortages have triggered rationing for farmers, and cuts could also be considered to households if the situation does not improve by April, he said.

Cyprus is no stranger to drought, but the present shortage has been acute enough to send devout Greek Cypriots into Churches praying for rain. The Orthodox Church on Wednesday called for an all-night vigil on January 18.

"We will all be given the chance to send prayers to our Heavenly Father to end the drought on our island," Archbishop Chrysostomos said in a circular. "We have no doubt God will hear our prayers and send us the rain we so badly need."

Authorities also called prayers in December, when it barely rained.

Official accounts suggest that rainfall in Cyprus has fallen by about 20 percent over the past 35 years, a decline officials attribute to climate change.

Cyprus has two desalination plants running at full capacity, and a third is due to come on stream in June. Reservoirs were 9.2 percent full as of January 8, holding an estimated 25.3 million cubic meters of water.

Minorities conscripted for the first time

ARMENIANS, Maronites and Latins are for the first time being mandatorily conscripted into the army this week, under an amendment to the law adopted last year.

The reaction by the House Representatives of the communities, however, has been varied.

The Armenian Representative Vartkes Mahdessian was the most enthusiastic. He emphasised that his position on the issue was unequivocally in favour.

“My community is proud to serve the homeland, side-by-side with our Greek-Cypriot brothers.”

The Latin Representative Benito Mantovanis was the most stoical.

“The Latin community is a law-abiding community. The Cabinet made a decision and we respect it.”

The Maronite Representative Antonis Hadjiroussos was even less enthusiastic.

“The government decided on the law and there is no way out,” he said.

“We are embittered because of the attitude towards us from incumbent governments, which showed indecision as to whether they wanted to pass the law or not.

“Although we concur that it is one’s duty to serve the National Guard, the reasons our community was exempted are still very much valid: in its totality, the Maronites are a community of refugees and enclaved.”Hadjiroussos also pointed out that, “because of the conscription, the Turkish Army will make it harder for Maronites to visit their villages in the north. In addition, it hampers current efforts which aim to resettle Maronites in villages in the north that have dwindling populations and are on the verge of extinction.

“The villages must be kept in existence until a solution to the Cyprus problem has been found.”

Permanent Secretary of the Defence Department Petros Kareklas told the Mail that the conscription was coming along smoothly, although the vast majority of conscripts will arrive in the summer.

“The change in the regulation occurred because of Cyprus’ entry into the European Union. Although the members of these communities had always been called to conscript, the decision whether to do so was voluntary. According to European law, however, the state cannot discriminate between social groups based on religion.”

Along the same lines, Defence Ministry spokesman Yiannis Patsalides said:

“Equality in rights means equality in conscription. We are all citizens of the same Republic.”

Asked to comment as to whether this would have any repercussions regarding the status of Turkish Cypriots living in the south, Kareklas said that “this issue has never been raised, as it involves significant political considerations.”

EU hails smooth transition to euro use in Cyprus, Malta

The European Commission on Thursday hailed the smooth introduction to the euro in the Mediterranean island states of Cyprus and Malta, which both adopted the common currency on January 1.

"All available evidence suggests that the changeover operation is proceeding very smoothly and without any noteworthy incidents," the EU's executive arm said in a statement.

That sentiment was shared by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank, which opined that "the cash changeover is progressing smoothly and according to plan, thanks to the timely and comprehensive preparations and cooperation among all stakeholders."

After Wednesday's first working day since the currency switch the share of euro banknotes in circulation was already over 50 percent in both Cyprus and Malta, the E#CB added in its statement.

Malta and Cyprus became the 14th and 15th members of the eurozone on Wednesday after painstaking preparations and coordination between the governments and central banks.

The Commission said that by Tuesday around 40 percent of citizens in both countries had "only or mostly euro cash in their wallets and purses."

According to a European Commission survey retailers gave change exclusively in euros in over 90 percent of all cash transactions, although on Monday there had been some shortage of change at retail outlets while banks were closed for the New Year holiday.

On Wednesday 36 percent of Maltese and 28 percent of Cypriots said they had paid for goods using euros, favourable results compared to the 19 percent figure registered when Slovenia adopted the euro a year ago.

The smooth transition came despite the start of the post-holiday winter sales.

Moody's Investors Service reflected the satisfaction with the smooth currency change by upgrading the foreign and local currency government bond ratings of Cyprus to Aa3 from A1 and of Malta to A1 from A2.

"Moody's views the adoption of the euro by Cyprus and Malta as a significant credit positive because it all but eliminates the risk of a currency crisis, thereby insulating their economies from external financial shocks," said senior Moody's analyst Tristan Cooper.

In both countries the euro has been introduced under a "big bang" system with dual circulation of the old and new currencies for one month.

The euro will thus become the sole legal tender as of February 1, 2008, although both national central banks will redeem old banknotes for ten years and coins for two years.

The 15 eurozone nations are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.