1999X0656 — EN — 31.08.2001 — 001.001 — 1
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►B ►C1 GUIDELINEOFTHEEUROPEANCENTRALBANK
of7July1998
oncertainprovisionsregardingeurobanknotes,asamendedon26August1999 ◄
(ECB/1999/3)
(1999/656/EC)
(OJ L 258, 5.10.1999, p. 32)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Decision 2001/667/EC of the European Central Bank of 30 August 2001 L 233 55 31.8.2001
Corrected by:
►C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 287, 14.11.2000, p. 68 (656/1999)
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►C1 GUIDELINEOFTHEEUROPEANCENTRALBANK
of7July1998
oncertainprovisionsregardingeurobanknotes,asamendedon26
August1999 ◄
(ECB/1999/3)
(1999/656/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 Article
106(1) thereof,
Having regard to Articles 12.1, 14.3 and 16 of the Statute of the
European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank(hereinafter referred to as the ‘Statute’),
Having regard to ECB Decision ECB/1998/6 of 7 July 1998 on the
denominations, specifications, reproduction, exchange and withdrawalof euro banknotes (
1) as amended by ECB Decision of 26 August 1999
(ECB/1999/2) (2),
(1) Whereas the copyright on the designs of the euro banknotes wasreceived by the European Central Bank (ECB) from the EuropeanMonetary Institute (EMI); whereas such copyright needs to beadministered and enforced, inter alia , in all participating Member
States according to the individual national legal systems, and thissituation warrants entrusting such functions to the national central
banks (NCBs);
(2) Whereas, in order to enhance the protection of euro banknotes
against counterfeiting, it appears advisable to establish aCounterfeit Analysis Centre (CAC), in which the resources of
the NCBs of the participating Member States and of the ECB
could be pooled, and which would require the establishment ofcertain rules within the European System of Central Banks(ESCB);
(3) Whereas, in order to widen the acknowledgement by the general
public of any decision taken by the ECB to withdraw types or
series of banknotes, in addition to the official publication of thatdecision by the ECB in the Official Journal of the European
Communities , it is deemed to be appropriate to make announce-
ments in the national media and for this task to be entrusted to theNCBs;
(4) Whereas, in accordance with Articles 12.1 and 14.3 of the Statute,ECB Guidelines form an integral part of Community law,
HAS ADOPTED THIS GUIDELINE:
Article 1
Enforcementofcopyright
1. The NCBs shall take all necessary and feasible measures,
according to their national legal systems, to ensure that there is nobreach of the copyright of the euro banknote designs held by the ECB.
2. Whenever an NCB becomes aware of unauthorised reproduction of
euro banknotes having occurred on its national territory, it shall take
immediate action to ensure that such reproduction ceases and that any
copies produced in this manner are withdrawn, and shall inform the ECBwithout delay.1999X0656 — EN — 31.08.2001 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 8, 14.1.1999, p. 36.
(2) See page 29 of this Oficial Journal.
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3. The Executive Board of the ECB may issue instructions on
whether or not the situation requires the initiation of civil or criminalproceedings against the person responsible for the reproduction. For the
conduct of legal proceedings, the ECB shall have recourse to the NCBs:
it shall instruct them accordingly and provide them with the necessarypowers of attorney. All legal costs shall be borne by the ECB.
Article 2
Exchangeofmutilatedordamagedbanknotes
1. The NCBs shall duly implement ECB Decision ECB/1998/6.2. Whem implementing ECB Decision ECB/1998/6, and subject to
any legal constraints, NCBs shall destroy any mutilated banknotes or thepieces thereof after a period of six months, unless there are legal grounds
for them to be preserved or returned to the applicant.
3. The NCBs shall appoint a single organ or body to adopt decisions
on the exchange of mutilated or damaged banknotes for the casesforeseen in Article 3(1)(b) of ECB Decision ECB/1998/6, and shallinform the ECB accordingly.
Article 3
CounterfeitAnalysisCentreandcounterfeitcurrencydatabase
1. The Counterfeit Analysis Centre (CAC) and the counterfeit
currency database (CCD) of the ESCB will be established by and rununder the aegis of the ECB. The establishment of the CAC is intended tocentralise the technical analysis of and data relating to the counterfeiting
of euro banknotes issued by the ECB and the NCBs. All relevant
technical and statistical data concerning the counterfeiting of eurobanknotes shall be centrally stored in the CCD.
2. The location of the CAC and the CCD shall be Frankfurt am Main.
The Governing Council shall appoint the head of the CAC, approve itsbudget and organise its staffing and resources.
3. Subject to legal constraints, the NCBs shall provide the CAC with
originals of new types of counterfeit euro banknotes in their possession,
for the purposes of technical investigation and central classification. The
preliminary assessment of whether a specific counterfeit belongs to aclassified type or to a new category shall be carried out by the NCBs.
4. All the technical data within the CCD shall be available to the
ECB and to the NCBs of participating Member States. The CAC shallcooperate with the police forces of the participating Member States, withEuropol and with the European Commission, as appropriate, regarding
their respective areas of expertise. The individual staff members of the
CAC may appear in judicial proceedings to offer technical expertise incases of counterfeiting, if requested. Any contacts established by theCAC with individual national authorities shall be effected together withthe relevant NCB.
Article 4
Withdrawalofbanknotes
The NCBs shall announce the withdrawal of a euro banknote type or
series decided by the Governing Council in national newspapers at theirown cost, following any instructions that may be issued by the Executive
Board.
Article 5
Finalprovisions
This Guideline is addressed to the national central banks of participating
Member States and shall have immediate effect.1999X0656 — EN — 31.08.2001 — 001.001 — 3
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This Guideline shall be published in the Official Journal of the
European Communities .1999X0656 — EN — 31.08.2001 — 001.001 — 4