PURPOSE: to amend Council Regulation (EC) No 975/98 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation.

NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Regulation No 566/2012 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 975/98 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation.

CONTENT: as the euro coins circulate in the whole euro area, their national design features are a matter of common interest.

To permit their smooth circulation and in the interests of legal certainty and transparency it this Regulation ensures the rules defined in Recommendation 2009/23/EC concerning denominations and technical specifications of euro circulation coins, are made legally binding by integrating them into Council Regulation (EC) No 975/98.

Commission Recommendation 2009/23/EC on common guidelines for the national sides and the issuance of euro coins intended for circulation, endorsed by the Council conclusions of 10 February 2009, defines common principles for the designs used for the national sides of euro circulation coins and establishes procedures whereby Member States inform each other of draft designs, and for the approval of these designs.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 19/07/2012.

The European Parliament adopted by 564 votes to 21, with 12 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 975/98 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation.

Parliament approves the Commission proposal subject to one amendment which stipulates that the Commission shall verify compliance with the provisions of this Regulation without delay and at the latest within 10 working days and that it shall inform the other Member States and the ECB of its findings within 10 working days of such verification.

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs adopted the report by Hans-Peter MARTIN (NI, AT) on the proposal for a Council regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 975/98 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation

The committee recommends that the European Parliament amend the Commission proposal such that, when new draft designs of euro coins are forwarded by the issuing Member State to the Commission for verification, the latter must inform the other Member States and the ECB of its findings within ten working days of such verification.

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK on a proposal for a Regulation on the issuance of euro coins and on a proposal for a Regulation on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation.

On 28 June 2011, the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the European Parliament for an opinion on a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the issuance of euro coins.

On 5 July 2011, the ECB received two further requests from the Council of the European Union for an opinion on: (a) the proposed regulation; and (b) a proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 975/98 of 3 May 1998 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation.

The ECB understands that: (i) the proposed regulation is intended to codify the current Union non-binding legal instruments and conclusions regarding the issuance of euro coins; (ii) in laying down general provisions for the issuance of euro coins at Union level, the objective is to harmonise relevant practices among Member States and ensure legal certainty and transparency.

The ECB makes the following remarks:

The ECB notes that according to Article 128(2) of the TFEU , the issuance of euro coins is the responsibility of the participating Member States, whilst the Parliament and the Council have the competence to lay down the measures necessary for the use of the euro as the single currency pursuant to Article 133 of the TFEU. In addition, the Council may, according to Article 128(2) of the TFEU, adopt measures to harmonise the denominations and technical specifications of all coins intended for circulation to the extent necessary to permit their smooth circulation within the Union.

Hence, the adoption of Union legislation on euro coin issuance must respect the participating Member States’ competence to issue euro coins and their capacity as legal issuers of euro coins .

In addition, while the ECB’s tasks and responsibilities under the TFEU and the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank are not affected in the context of the proposed regulation, the ECB recommends that any Member States’ concerns on euro coin issuance competences should be addressed between the concerned Member States and the Union in accordance with the principle of sincere cooperation under the Treaty on European Union.

The ECB considers it advisable to harmonise the terminology used throughout the proposed regulation. In particular, the terms ‘issue’ and ‘put/bring into circulation’ are not defined in the proposed regulation. Nevertheless, in its drafting proposals, the ECB leaves it to the Commission to decide on this linguistic issue.

The ECB suggests:

clarifying the current definition of euro circulation coins should be clarified and a separate definition for regular euro circulation coins should be added to avoid any ambiguity in relation to this terminology; stipulating that Member States shall take all appropriate measures to prevent discourage euro collector coins from being used as means of payments.

Lastly, the ECB reiterates its previous recommendation on modifying the technical specifications set out in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 975/98 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation. Amendments are as follows:

maintaining the national traditions of the Member States in relation to the issuance of commemorative euro circulation coins; the ECB understands that Article 1h(a) of the Regulation covers euro circulation coins with legal tender status prior to the entry into force of the amending regulation, whereas Article 1h(b) sets a transitional period for changing the stamps for the designs on euro circulation coins in compliance with the new design requirements. In this respect, the ECB advises replacing the word ‘issued’ with the word ‘produced’ in Article 1h(a). This would extend the exclusion scope of this draft provision to also cover the stocks of euro circulation coins already minted by the competent authorities of the participating Member States but not having legal tender status at the time of entry into force of the proposed amending regulation. In that way, a legal safeguard would be established for all the costs that Eurosystem national central banks may have incurred in relation to the production of euro circulation coins that have not yet obtained the status of legal tender up to the moment of entry into force of the proposed amending regulation. The ECB also notes that euro circulation coins issued during the transition period under Article 1h(b) would keep their legal tender status even after the expiry of the transition period.

PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EC) No 975/98 of 3 May 1998 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Regulation.

BACKGROUND: the Commission Recommendation 2009/23/EC of 19 December 2008 on common guidelines for the national sides and the issuance of euro coins intended for circulation, endorsed by the Council conclusions of 10 February 2009, defines common principles for the designs used for the national sides of euro circulation coins and for the mutual information and approval of those designs.

As the euro coins circulate throughout the euro area, their national design features are a matter of common interest. To permit their smooth circulation and in the interest of legal certainty and transparency it is appropriate to give those rules of Recommendation 2009/23/EC that concern denominations and technical specifications of euro circulation coins, a legally binding form by integrating them into the existing Council Regulation (EC) 975/98 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: no impact assessment was carried out.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 128(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: the Commission proposes to amend Council Regulation (EC) 975/98 as follows:

Types of euro circulation coins : Euro coins intended for circulation shall be either regular or commemorative. Euro circulation coins shall have a common European side and a distinctive national side. Absence of the currency name and denomination on the national side : Euro coins have a common European side and a distinctive national side. The common European sides of the euro coins bear both the name of the single currency and the denomination of the coin. The national side should neither repeat the name of the single currency nor the denomination of the coin. Identification of the issuing Member State on the national side : the national side of all the denominations of euro circulation coins shall bear an indication of the issuing Member State by means of the Member State’s name or an abbreviation of it. Design of the national sides : the national side of euro circulation coins shall bear 12 stars that shall fully surround the national design, including the year mark and the indication of the issuing Member State's name. The 12 stars shall be depicted as on the European flag. The design shall be chosen taking into account that euro coins circulate in all participating Member States. Changes to the national sides of regular euro circulation coins : in order to facilitate the recognition of euro circulation coins and ensure an appropriate continuity in the minting, the designs used for the national sides of regular euro circulation coins should in principle not be modified, except if the Head of State referred to on a coin changes. Commemorative euro circulation coins : Member States should however be allowed to issue commemorative euro circulation coins to celebrate subjects of major national or European relevance, whereas commemorative coins collectively issued by all participating Member States should be reserved for subjects of the highest European relevance. The 2-euro coin constitutes the most suitable denomination for this purpose, principally on account of the large diameter of the coin and its technical characteristics offering adequate protection against counterfeiting Information procedure and publication of changes of the national sides : i ssuing Member States should inform each other about new national sides well in advance of the planned issue date. To this effect, issuing Member States should forward their draft euro coin designs to the Commission, which will verify the compliance with this Regulation.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATIONS: this proposal has no implication for the EU budget.