BRUSSELS (AFP) -- EU leaders gave their backing for Cyprus and Malta to adopt the euro, clearing the way for the two Mediterranean islands to join the 13-nation eurozone in January, the EU presidency said.

At a Brussels summit, the heads of state and government from the 27-nation European Union deemed the two nations -- which joined the bloc in 2004 -- to be ready for the euro, giving top-level political backing to their euro ambitions. The European Commission set Cyprus and Malta on the path last month by ruling that they had met the strict macroeconomic criteria needed to become members of the single European currency club. Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos hailed the decision as "a very historic day for Cyprus," adding that his island nation had been "rewarded" for the tough austerity plan it carried out to meet the euro criteria. "It's proof that the economic policies we have followed in Cyprus have been rewarded by making it possible for us to accomplish the indicators, which are very strict," he told journalists. Separately, a spokesman for the Maltese delegation to the European Union said: "We are very pleased and looking forward to adopting the euro on January 1." Following the leaders' approval, EU finance ministers are next month to formally green-light Cyprus and Malta's plans to adopt the euro on January 1, 2008. It will also be up to the finance ministers at that time to decide on the definitive rates at which the Cyprus pound and the Maltese lira would be converted into the euro. One Cyprus pound is worth about 1.71 euros at current exchange rates, while the Maltese lira is worth 2.33 euros. The ex-Yugoslav republic of Slovenia became the 13th member of the eurozone in January, making it the first to adopt the euro of the 10 mostly ex-communist countries that joined the EU in May 2004. "Following Slovenia in January this year, it will be the turn of Cyprus and Malta to adopt the euro in 2008 and to benefit from the same macro-economic stability and protection brought about by the single currency," EU Economic and Monetary Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said. "It is important that they make careful use of the next six months to ensure a smooth transition," he added. After Cyprus and Malta join, Slovakia is the next in line for eurozone membership in 2009. The Baltic trio of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania all harbor plans to join the eurozone quickly, but they have had to scale back their ambitions because inflation in their booming economies has been running too high