WRITTEN QUESTION E-2753/99 by Ole Krarup (EDD) to the Commission. Criminal use of large denomination euro notes.
3. 10. 2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 280 E/123 Answer given by Mrs Reding on behalf of the Commission (2 March 2000) As part of the European campaign to heighten public awareness about violence against women, the Commission has supported the following projects in Belgium: a national project involving the Council of French-speaking Women and a transnational project carried out by the European Womenís Lobby. It is not possible for the Commission to evaluate at this stage the impact of these projects, since they are still in progress. The European campaign began in March 1999 and will end in May 2000. A closing conference is to be organised in collaboration with the Portuguese Presidency in Lisbon from 4 to 6 May 2000. In the course of this conference, a report evaluating the campaign will be presented. Its results will be taken into consideration for devising any future action in this field. The Commission wishes to point out to the Honourable Member that, under the Daphne initiative (1997-1999), it has given assistance to 150 activities involving organisations aiming to combat violence against women, several of which are in Belgium, and that it will continue this action under the Daphne programme (2000-2003). A list of the projects approved under this campaign is being sent directly to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat of Parliament. (2000/C 280 E/131) WRITTEN QUESTION E-2753/99 by Ole Krarup (EDD) to the Commission (18 January 2000) Subject: Criminal use of large denomination euro notes Surveys in the USA have shown that only part of the total quantity of 100-dollar bills printed is used in the official, domestic US economy and that it must therefore be concluded that these banknotes form part of other economies, including the black economy, and are also used for payment in drug- trafficking transactions. What are the Commissionís views concerning the large denomination euro notes (the value of which may be more than five times that of the largest dollar bill), in the light of the international role that the euro may play in criminal circles as a form of payment for drugs? Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission (25 February 2000) Some participating Member States ü Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria, ü currently have high-value banknotes in a range of € 200 to € 600. A banknote of DM 1 000 is, for instance, in circulation in Germany. Hence, at least part of the European population is accustomed to using high-value banknotes for transactions and as a store of value. In this respect, high denominations of euro banknotes are replacing some high denominations of current national banknotes. Euro banknotes, once they are introduced, will likelihood also circulate in noticeable quantities in all outside the euro zone since the euro is one of the most important currencies of the world. It is, of course, difficult to assess to what extent the euro will be used in unlawful transactions. It is even more difficult to predict whether the € 200 and € 500 banknotes will have an influence on such use. In fact, as the Honourable Member rightly points out, dollar notes seem to play an important role in the black economy and drug-trafficking transactions despite the limited range of their nominal values. The Commission will, within the limits of its competence, endeavour to detect any evidence of dispropor- tionate use of euro banknotes in unlawful transactions after 2001