1999D0033 — EN — 26.08.1999 — 001.001 — 1
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►B DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
of 7 July 1998
on the denominations, specifications, reproduction, exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes
(ECB/1998/6)
(1999/33/EC)
(OJ L 8, 14.1.1999, p. 36)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Decision 1999/655/EC of the European Central Bank of 26 August 1999 L 258 29 5.10.1999
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DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
of 7 July 1998
on the denominations, specifications, reproduction, exchange and
withdrawal of euro banknotes
(ECB/1998/6)
(1999/33/EC)
THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community
(hereinafter referred to as the ‘Treaty') and in particular to Article105a(1) thereof and to Article 16 of the Statute of the European Systemof Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter referredto as the ‘Statute'),
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on
the introduction of the euro (
1) and in particular to Articles 10 and 16
thereof,
Whereas the provisions of Article 105a(1) of the Treaty, Article 16 of
the Statute and Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 974/98 on the intro-duction of the euro require more precise details on the denominationsand specifications of the euro banknotes; whereas such details may beprovided by means of a Decision of the Governing Council of theEuropean Central Bank, published for general information in the Offi-
cial Journal of the European Communities ;
Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 975/98 of 3 May 1998 on denom-
inations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circula-tion (
2) stipulates that the denominations of the euro coins will range
from one cent to two euros; whereas the denominations of the eurobanknotes should take into account the denominations of the euro coins;
Whereas the present Decision takes into account the preparatory work
carried out by the European Monetary Institute (hereinafter referred toas the ‘EMI')and, in particular with regard to the banknote designs, theresults of a Europe-wide competition between banknote designers;whereas such preparatory work included consultations with Europeanassociations of several categories of banknote users in order to take intoaccount their specific visual and technical requirements and to facilitatethe recognition and acceptance of the new banknote denominations andspecifications by users; whereas the European Central Bank (hereinafterreferred to as the ‘ECB')is the recipient of the copyright on the designsof the euro banknotes, originally held by the EMI;
Whereas it is necessary to establish some common guiding principles
according to which the commercial reproduction of the designs ofbanknotes will be permitted; whereas the ECB shall have recourse tothe national central banks (hereinafter referred to as the ‘NCBs') ofparticipating Member States for ad hoc authorisation to reproduce bank-note designs; whereas, as a general policy, reproduction of the banknotedesigns to which this Decision refers shall be authorised, inter alia, foreducation purposes;
Whereas a common regime under which the NCBs of participating
Member States are prepared to exchange mutilated or damaged eurobanknotes needs to be established; whereas the need to establish acommon regime also applies to the final withdrawal of banknotes whenthese are to be replaced by new banknotes; whereas the publication ofannouncements in the Official Journal of the European Communities
may be accompanied by other means of publication that may facilitatedue acknowledgement by the general public,
(1) OJ L 139, 11. 5. 1998, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 139, 11. 5. 1998, p. 6.
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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Denominations and specifications
1.1. The first series of euro banknotes will include seven denomina-
tions in the range of five euros to 500 euros, depicting the theme ‘Agesand styles of Europe', with the following basic specifications.
Face value
(EUR)Dimensions Dominant colour Design
5 1 2 0×6 2m m Grey Classical
10 1 2 7×6 7m m Red Romanesque
20 1 3 3×7 2m m Blue Gothic
50 1 4 0×7 7m m Orange Renaissance
100 1 4 7×8 2m m Green Baroque and
Rococo
200 1 5 3×8 2m m Yellow-Brown Iron and glass
architecture
500 1 6 0×8 2m m Purple Modern 20th
century architec-
ture
1.2. The seven denominations in the euro banknote series bear the
representation of gateways and windows on the recto and bridges on theverso. All seven denominations are typical of the different Europeanartistic periods referred to above. Other elements of the designs include:the symbol of the European Union; the name of the currency in theRoman and Greek alphabets; the initials of the European Central Bankin their official language variants; the symbol to indicate the copy-
right protection; and the signature of the President of the ECB.
Article 2
Reproduction
2.1. The copyright on the banknotes specified in Article 1 of this
Decision belongs to the ECB.
2.2.►
M1The reproduction of all or part of a banknote specified in
Article 1 of this Decision is authorised without recourse to a specificprocedure in the following cases:
(a) for photographs, drawings, paintings, films, and generally for any
type of image in which the focus is not the banknotes or reproduc-tions themselves and which do not provide a close-up view of thebanknote designs;
(b) for reproductions which are more than 125 % or less than 75 % of
both the length and the width of the respective banknote as speci-fied in Article 1 of this Decision, irrespective of the material usedfor the reproduction. ◄
2.3. Any other reproduction of all or part of a banknote has to be
authorised by (i) the NCB of the participating Member State in whichthe applicant is located, under delegation from and in accordance withthe policies of the ECB, or (ii) the ECB, for applicants located outsidethe participating Member States.
2.4. General authorisation of reproductions under the above rules
may be cancelled in the event of a conflict with the unalienable moralrights of the author of the banknote designs.
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Article 3
Exchange of mutilated or damaged banknotes
3.1. NCBs of participating Member States shall, upon request,
exchange mutilated or damaged legal tender euro banknotes in thefollowing cases:
(a) when more than 50 % of the banknote is presented;
(b) when 50 % or less of the banknote is presented if the applicant
proves that the missing parts have been destroyed.
3.2. The exchange of mutilated or damaged banknotes shall require:
(a) identification of the applicant in cases of doubt as to the applicant’s
legal title to the banknotes and the authenticity of the banknotes;
(b) upon reasonable suspicion that a criminal offence has been
committed or that the banknote has been intentionally mutilated ordamaged, written explanations with regard to the cause of themutilation or damage and what has become of the missing parts ofthe banknote;
(c) written explanations of the kind of stain, contamination or impreg-
nation when ink-stained, contaminated or impregnated banknotesare presented;
(d) a written statement on the cause and kind of neutralisation when
banknotes are submitted by credit institutions if they have beendiscoloured by activated anti-theft devices;
(e) payment by the applicant of the fee that the ECB may establish in
cases of labour-intensive analysis by NCBs.
Article 4
Withdrawal of banknotes
The withdrawal of a euro banknote type or series will be regulated by a
Decision of the Governing Council published for general information intheOfficial Journal of the European Communities and other media.
This Decision will cover, as a minimum, the following points:
— the euro banknote type or series to be withdrawn from circulation,
— the duration of the exchange period,— the date on which the euro banknote type or series will lose its legal
tender status,
— the treatment of the euro banknotes presented once the withdrawal
period is over and/or they have lost their legal tender status.
Article 5
General provisions
This Decision will be published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities .