FRANKFURT (MNI) - The extraordinary liquidity measures implemented in the eurozone to soften the financial crisis are expected to be phased out gradually, the Central Bank of Malta said Wednesday.

In its quarterly review, the Mediterranean island nation's central bank also said that governments should be preparing for fiscal consolidation, and that the global economy would look different after the crisis than it did pre-crisis.

It warned that growth in the major industrial economies would not be as strong after the crisis.

"Looking ahead, as the recession bottoms out and tentative signs of a global recovery can be glimpsed, attention is beginning to focus on preparing an appropriate exit strategy," the bank observed.

"As far as monetary policy is concerned, at the euro area level the extraordinary measures taken to combat the crisis are expected to be phased out gradually and in a timely manner," it predicted.

"On the fiscal front, governments should be laying the ground for consolidation," it urged.

"This would strengthen public finances in the face of increased debt servicing costs as interest rates eventually change course and as the negative repercussions of population aging begin to be gradually felt," the bank explained.

"The global economy that will emerge after the economic crisis is over is likely to be different from that which prevailed in the pre-crisis years," it forecast.

"At least in the major industrial economies, growth is likely to be less robust than before, which means that Maltese exporters will face more intense competition," it noted.