No C 339/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 91 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 89/299/EEC on the 
Own Funds of Credit Institutions (*) 
(91/C 339/02) 
The Council decided on 9 July 1991, in accordance with Article 57(2) of the EEC Treaty, to 
ask the Economic and Social Committee for an Opinion on the abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts ans Services, which was responsible for the 
preparatory work, adopted its Opinion on 4 September 1991. The Rapporteur was 
Mr Pardon. 
At its 289th plenary session (meeting of 25 September 1991) the Economic and Social 
Committee adopted the following Opinion with no votes against and one abstention. 
I. Aims of the proposed directive 
1. The proposed directive has two distinct aims: 
— to enable Denmark to authorise its mortgage credit 
institutions organised as co-operatives or funds 
(i.e. 'foundations' with their own legal personality) 
which convert themselves into public limited 
companies to continue to include part of their joint 
and several commitments to borrowers as own 
funds on a temporary basis and on a diminishing 
scale, and 
— to modify the 'committee' procedure set up by 
Article 8 of Directive 89/299/EEC. 
These two aims will be covered separately because of 
the difference between them. 
II. Danish mortgage credit institutions 
2. In Denmark there are six real estate credit insti­
tutions, one of which is organised as a co-operative, as 
a group of lenders, and two are 'funds' i.e. foundations 
with their own legal personality. 
The main activity of these institutions consists of issuing 
bonds and using the funds so acquired to grant loans 
secured by real estate. 
3. The Council Directive of 17 April 1989 on the 
own funds of credit institutions (89/299/EEC) permits 
credit institutions organised as co-operative societies or 
funds to include the joint and several commitments of 
their borrowers as own funds [Art. 2, § 1(7), and 4, 
§ 1, of Directive 89/299/EEC]. 
(!) OJ No C 172, 3. 7. 1991, p. 3, OJ No C 186, 18. 7. 1991, 
p. 14, OJ No C 239, 14. 9. 1991, p. 5. These items may not exceed a maximum of 50% of 
capital and reserves [Art. 6, 1(b), of Directive 89/299/ 
EEC]. 
The Danish government wants these mortgage credit 
institutions organised as co-operatives or funds to be 
converted into public limited companies. The converted 
institutions would then lose the possibility of counting 
the joint and several commitments of their borrowers 
as own funds, and so the planned conversion would be 
impossible. 
4. The Commission is allowing such items to be 
counted as own funds on a diminishing scale from 
1 January 1991 to 31 December 2000. 
The basis for calculating the limits on joint and several 
commitments is that in Article 6, § 1(b), of Directive 
89/299/EEC: the items 1 (capital in so far as it has been 
paid up) and 2 (reserves) subject to the deduction of 
items 9 (own shares held by a credit institution), 
10 (intangible assets) and 11 (material losses). 
The basis for calculation is determined on 1 January 
1991, or, in the event of subsequent conversion, on 
the date of conversion. It is a 'maximum basis for 
calculation'. The 'basis for calculation' must never be 
higher than the 'maximum basis for calculation'. 
In addition, from 1 January 1997 the 'maximum basis 
for calculation' will be reduced by half of the proceeds 
from any issue of new capital, in so far as it has been 
paid up. 
5. As the proposed directive is a limited and tempor­
ary measure to be applied on a diminishing scale, the 
Committee endorses it. 
31. 12. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 339/3 
III. Modifications to the 'Committee' procedure set up 
by Article 8 of Directive 89/299/EEC 
6. Under Article 8 of Directive 89/299/EEC the 
Council reserved for itself the implementing powers of 
certain technical amendments to the Directive. 
However, these technical amendments are limited to: 
— clarifying the definitions to ensure uniform appli­
cation of the Directive throughout the Community, 
— clarifying the definitions to take account, in 
implementing the Directive, of developments on the 
financial markets, and 
— bringing the terminology and wording of the defi­
nitions into line with that of subsequent acts con­
cerning credit institutions and related areas. 
7. Under Article 1 of the Council Decision of 13 July 
1987 laying down the procedures for the exercise of 
implementing powers conferred on the Commission 
(87/373/EEC), the Council in principle (i.e. with the 
exception of specific cases where it reserves the right 
to exercise directly implementing powers itself), in the 
acts which it adopts, confers on the Commission powers 
for the implementation of the rules which it lays down. 
The implementing powers in Article 8 of Directive 89/ 
299/EEC are indeed strictly limited in their aim. 
These powers may easily be delegated to the Com­
mission, in accordance with Council Decision 87/373/ 
EEC of 13 July 1987, especially as the Commission is 
assisted by a Banking Advisory Committee representing 
the national supervisory authorities of each of the Mem­
ber States. 
When the Council adopted the Second Banking Co­
ordination Directive (89/646/EEC) and the Solvency 
Ratio Directive (89/647/EEC) it retained the 'committee 
procedure' provided for in Article 2, procedure III, 
variant (b), of Council Decision 87/373/EEC. 
The technical adjustments referred to in Articles 22 and 
9 respectively of the two abovementioned Directives 
will be made in the following manner: 
a) The Commission will be assisted by a committee 
composed of representatives of the Member States 
and chaired by a representative of the Commission. 
b) The Commission representative will submit to the 
committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The 
committee will deliver its opinion on the draft by the majority laid down in Article 148(2) of the 
Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is 
required to adopt on a proposal from the Com­
mission. The votes of the representatives of the 
Member States in the committee will be weighted 
in the manner set out in that article. The chairman 
will not vote. 
c) The Commission will adopt the measures envisaged 
if they are in accordance with the opinion of the 
committee. 
d) If the measures envisaged are not in accordance 
with the opinion of the committee, or if no opinion 
is delivered, the Commission will, without delay, 
submit to the Council a proposal relating to the 
measures to be taken. The Council will act by a 
qualified majority. 
e) If the Council does not act with three months of 
the referral to it, the proposed measures will be 
adopted by the Commission, save where the Council 
has decided against the said measures by a simple 
majority. 
8. For the implementation of Directive 89/299/EEC 
on the own funds of credit institutions the Commission, 
bearing in mind the specific characteristics of the bank­
ing sector, has provided for the application of procedure 
III, variant (a), laid down in Article 2 of Council 
Decision 87/373/EEC of 13 July 1987, i.e. if the Council 
does not act with three months of the referral to it, the 
proposed measures will be adopted by the Commission. 
9. The Committee understands the Commission's 
desire to strengthen its implementing powers by avoid­
ing the constraints it faces in formulating Community 
legislation. 
There are, however, serious objections to the proposed 
procedure. 
In technical fields, which are nevertheless of great 
potential importance, the Commission intends to cir­
cumvent the opposition to its proposals from the Bank­
ing Advisory Committee, and even the Council's pos­
ition. 
Whilst the Council's inability to act within three months 
on all the matters referred to it by the Commission is 
regrettable, it would be extremely unfortunate if the 
Commission were to take advantage of the former's 
heavy workload to assume powers not conferred on it 
by the Treaty. 
No C 339/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 12. 91 
The Committee therefore sees no reason to waive the 
procedure adopted by the Council in the Second Bank­ing Co-ordination Directive (89/646/EEC) and the Sol­
vency Ratio Directive (89/647/EEC). 
Done at Brussels, 25 September 1991. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois STAEDELIN 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to units of measurement (x) 
(91/C 339/03) 
On 23 July 1991, the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 100 A of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the 
abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services, which was responsible for preparing 
the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its Opinion on 4 September 1991. The 
Rapporteur was Mr Proumens. 
At its 289th plenary session (meeting of 25 September 1991) the Economic and Social 
Committee adopted the following Opinion unanimously. 
1. The Committee approves the present proposal 
without reservation. 
1.1. The proposal codifies the texts of an initial 
Directive, 80/181/EEC of 20 December 1979 concerning 
units of measurement. 
This Directive in turn repealed Directive 71/354/EEC. 
1.2. The initial Directive has already been amended 
by Directives 85/1/EEC and 89/617/EEC, which 
appeared in Official Journals No L 2 of 3 January 1985 
and No L 357 of 7 December 1989. 
(') OJ No C 185, 17. 7. 1991, p. 13. 1.3. The present proposal simply regroups the texts 
in question so as to make them instantly readable; their 
substance has not been changed. 
1.4. The Member States were supposed to incorpor­
ate these three texts into their national legislation by 
1 July 1981 (for Directive 80/181/EEC), 1 July 1985 
(for Directive 85/1/EEC) and 30 November 1991 (for 
Directive 89/617/EEC). 
1.5. However, for Directive 89/617/EEC it will be 
up to the Commission to see that the Member States 
have taken the necessary steps by the deadline of