WRITTEN QUESTION No. 338/99 by Karla PEIJS to the Council. National sides of euro coins
15. 10. 1999 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 297/155 At this moment the Commission has not yet submitted proposals to the Council, either in relation to 3. anti-dumping measures, nor in the framework of the trade barrier regulation. (1) OJ L 56, 6. 3. 1996, p. 1. (2) OJ L 349, 31. 12. 1994, p. 71. (1999/C 297/212) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0338/99 by Karla Peijs (PPE) to the Council (25 February 1999) Subject: National sides of euro coins Is the Council aware of the number of national designs on the euro coins of the 11 Member States of the 1. European Union which are to participate in the euro? Austria and Italy have no fewer than eight different designs. Does the Council agree that the large 2. number of national designs will cause confusion among users? If not, why not? The European Central Bank has stated that not only euro banknotes but also euro coins could be forged. 3. Does the Council agree that the large number of national designs will facilitate forgery? If not, why not? 4. Why did the Council not decide that each country participating in EMU should adopt a single national design for the euro coins? 5. What measures will the Council take to induce mintmasters to reduce the number of national designs to one per Member State? Reply (26 April 1999) Council Regulation 975/98 of 3 May 1998 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation (1), at last amended by Council Regulation 423/1999 of 22 February 1999 (2), lays down uniform rules for the issue of such coins which are applicable to all Member States concerned. The only noteworthy exception to these otherwise uniform rules concerns the design of the national side which will be different according to the Member State of issue. In this context the Council considered that ‘giving these coins one European and one national side is an appropriate expression of the idea of European monetary union between Member States and could significantly increase the degree of acceptance of the coins by European citizens’ (10th recital of Regulation 975/98). The Council is therefore of the opinion that the different designs of the national sides rather than creating confusion for consumers, will increase their degree of acceptance by paying tribute, at least partially, to the different design traditions of Member States. Furthermore, the Council does not consider that the fact of there being more than one design of the national side of the euro coins will facilitate forgery. In this respect it should be borne in mind that, given their high value, uniform special security features are applicable for the issue of the one and two euro coins. In conclusion, the Council sees presently no need to modify Regulation 975/98 in this respect. (1) OJ L 139, 11. 5. 1998, p. 6. (2) OJ L 52, 27. 2. 1999, p. 2