L 83/66 1.4.2003 Official Journal of the European Union I (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COUNCIL DECISION OF THE COUNCIL, MEETING IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE HEADS OF STATE OR GOVERNMENT of 21 March 2003 on an amendment to Article 10.2 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (2003/223EC) THE COUNCIL MEETING IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE HEADS OF () In view of their appointment at European level by a STATE OR GOVERNMENT, Treaty procedure and their role at the ECB, the compe- tence of which spans the whole euro area, each member Having regard to the Statute of the European System of Central of the Executive Board has to maintain a permanent Banks and of the European Central Bank ('), and in particular voting right in the Governing Council. to Article 10.6 thereof, Having regard to the recommendation from the European Central Bank (3, Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament (), (3)  The voting modalities in the Governing Council are Having regard to the opinion of the Commission (%), adjusted on the basis of Article 10.6 of the Statute. As this Article only concerns amendments to Article 10.2 Whereas: of the Statute, any adjustment of the voting modalities has no implications for voting on decisions taken in (1) The enlargement of the euro area will lead to an increase gccordance with Articles 103, 10.6 and 41.2 of the in the number of members of the Governing Council of tatute. the European Central Bank (ECB). There is a need to maintain the Governing Council's capacity for efficient and timely decision-making in an enlarged euro area, irrespective of the number of Member States that adopt the euro. In order to do so, the number of governors having voting rights will have to be smaller than the overall number of governors in the Governing Council. (4)  Five fundamental principles are reflected in the constitu- A rotation system is an equitable, efficient and accep- table way of assigning voting rights among the gover- nors in the Governing Council. A number of 15 voting rights for the governors strikes an appropriate balance between, on the one hand, continuity with the existing set-up including a balanced assignment of voting rights between the six members of the Executive Board and the other members of the Governing Council and, on the other hand, the need to ensure efficient decision-making in a substantially enlarged Governing Council. () Statute laid down by the Protocol annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community, as amended by the Treaty of Nice. () 0] C 29, 7.2.2003, p. 6. (*) Opinion delivered on 13 March 2003 (not yet published in the Offi- cial Journal). (*) Opinion delivered on 21 February 2003 (not yet published in the Official Journal). tive elements of the chosen rotation system. The ‘one member, one vote’ principle, which is the Governing Council's core decision-making principle, continues to apply to all members of the Governing Council having a voting right. All members of the Governing Council continue to participate in its meetings in a personal and independent capacity, irrespective of whether they have a voting right or not. The rotation system is robust in the sense that it is able to accommodate any euro area enlargements up to the currently envisaged maximum number of Member States. Moreover, the rotation system avoids producing situations in which those governors having a voting right are from the national central banks (NCBs) of Member States which, taken together, are perceived as unrepresentative of the euro area economy as a whole. Finally, the rotation system is transparent.