EN ECB-PUBLIC  
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 15 November 2012  
on euro banknotes and coins and amendmen ts to the Banco de España’s Statute 
(CON/2012/89) 
 
Introduction and legal basis 
On 20 September 2012, the European Central Bank (E CB) received a request from the Governor of the 
Banco de España, on behalf of the Spanish Stat e Secretary for Economic Affairs and Support for 
Business, for an opinion on a series of draft amen dments to Law 10/1975 of 12 March on the regulation 
of coinage, Law 46/1998 of 17 December on the introduc tion of the euro, and Law 13/1994 of 1 June, on 
the autonomy of the Banco de España  (hereinafter the ‘draft laws’). 
On 4 October 2012 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Governor of the Banco 
de España, on behalf of the Spanish State Secretar y for Economic Affairs and Support for Business, for 
an opinion on draft Article 22 (‘Fundamentals and c oordination of the general planning for economic 
activity as regards public sector staff expenses’) of the Law on the State General Budget for 2013 and its 
Third Final Provision (‘Amendment to Law 13/1994, of 1 June, on the autonomy of the Banco de España’) (hereinafter the ‘draft Law on the Stat e General Budget for 2013’). For the purpose of this 
opinion, the draft laws and the draft Law on the Stat e General Budget of 2013 ar e referred to collectively 
as the ‘draft provisions’. 
The ECB’s competence to deliver an  opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and on the first, third and sixth indents of Article 2(1) of Council 
Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consulta tion of the European Central Bank by national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions
1, as the draft provisions relate to the Banco de España 
and to rules applicable to financial institutions th at materially influence the stability of financial 
institutions and markets; also, the draft laws rela te to currency matters. In  accordance with the first 
sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council 
has adopted this opinion. 
 1. Purpose of the draft provisions 
Draft laws 
The new Article 8 bis in Law 10/1975 entrusts to the Banco de  España the functions referred to by 
Regulation (EU) No 1210/2010 of the European Par liament and of the Council of 15 December 2010 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.  
ECB-PUBLIC  
2 concerning authentication of euro coins and handling of euro coins unfit for circulation2. Also, given the 
amount of time that has passed since the introduction of  the euro in Spain, an amendment is proposed to 
Article 25 of Law 46/1998 of 17 December on the intr oduction of the euro, to establish 31 December 
2020 as the deadline for ex changing pesetas for euro. 
The amendment to the Fourth Additional Provision  of Law 46/1998 aims to ensure compliance with 
Article 6(3) of Council Regulation 1338/2001 (EC) No  of 28 June 2001 laying down measures necessary 
for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting3 and adapting the sanctions regime for breach of 
Article 6(1) of the Regulation. Likewise, a sanctions regime is introduced for breach of Regulation (EU) No 1210/2010 and Decision ECB/2010/14 of 16 September 2010 on the authenticity and fitness checking and recirculation of euro banknotes
4. 
The amendment to Article 15 of Law 13/1994 of 1 June  on the autonomy of the Banco de España adapts 
the wording to Decision ECB/2010/14.  
Finally, the amendments to Article 25 of Law 13/1994 remove the simultaneous nature of the roles of 
Governor and Deputy Governor and the age limit fo r members of the governing bodies of the Banco de 
España. 
Draft Law on the State General Budget for 2013 
Article 22 freezes increases in salaries and prohibits contributions to pension plans with the aim of 
reducing public expend iture. This is generally applicable to th e public sector and the Banco de España is 
expressly included, albeit under the terms establishe d in Law 13/1994 of 1 June on the autonomy of the 
Banco de España. 
The amendment introduced by the Third Final Provision in Article 6 bis of Law 13/1994 provides that the 
Banco de España must adopt measur es equivalent to those generally established for public sector staff, 
expressly prohibiting remuneration increases that  overall increase the payroll beyond the limits 
established in the Draft Law on th e State General Budget for 2013. 
 2. The Banco de España as the competent authorit y for counterfeit coin authentication and coin 
recirculation 
The ECB welcomes the Banco de Espa ña’s appointment as the competent authority for counterfeit coin 
authentication and coin recirculation matters.  
 3.  Redeeming peseta banknotes and coins 
Peseta banknotes and coins will cease to be redeem able from 1 January 2021. Article 16 of Council 
Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of 3 May 1998 on the introduction of the euro
5 provides that ‘In accordance 
                                                 
2 OJ L: 339, 22. 12.2010, p. 1. 
3 OJ L 181, 4.7.2001, p. 6. 
4 OJ L 267, 9.10.2010, p. 1. 
5 OJ L 139, 11.5.1998, p. 1. 
ECB-PUBLIC  
3 with the laws or practices of par ticipating Member States, the respectiv e issuers of banknotes and coins of 
the Member States shall continue to  accept, against euro at the conversion rate, the banknotes and coins 
previously issued by them’. The ECB takes note of the current draft provision of Article 25 of 
Law 46/1998, which explicitly clarifie s the terms for the lapse of the ri ght of exchange of peseta notes 
and coins into euro at the Banco de España. 
 4.  Sanctions regime for cash handlers The ECB welcomes the establishmen t of a deterrent sanctions regime  for non-compliant cash handlers. 
The ECB emphasises that national law should impose fi nes that do not go beyond their objective and are 
proportional.  
Sanctions regimes in all Member States that have a ligned their laws with Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 
in conjunction with Decision ECB/2010/14 could mer it harmonisation insofar as the ECB procedures in 
the Decision apply equally to all euro area cash handl ers. Therefore, the ECB considers it important for 
national authorities to contribute to establishing a le vel playing field among cash handlers falling within 
the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001, without prejudice to (i) the particularities of the cash cycle and the national organisation of cash ha ndlers, and (ii) the consistency of the levels of fines in their legal 
orders
6. 
 5. References to Union legislation According to the Fourth Add itional Provision, paragraph 4 in fine  of Law 46/1998, the Banco de España 
may lay down precise rules for the application of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001. The ECB encourages the Spanish national authorities to in sert a provision confirming that any such rules are 
without prejudice to the ECB procedures for auth enticity and fitness checking of euro banknotes in 
Decision ECB/2010/14.  
The reference in Article 15(1) in fine  to ‘the provisions of the Community rules in force’ should be 
replaced with ‘the provisions of the European Uni on rules in force, including the relevant ECB legal 
acts’. In Article 15(2) in fine of Law 13/1994 identical wording should be introduced, ensuring that the 
mentioned criteria and operating procedures are in line with Union law, including the relevant ECB legal 
acts.  
 6. Remuneration of the Banco de España’s staff  
The principle of central bank independence in Article 130 of the Treaty prohibits third parties, including 
the governments of the Member Stat es, from issuing instructions to the national central banks (NCBs). 
Also, the principle of central bank independence mean s that third parties may not exercise direct or 
indirect influence over an NCB, whether relating to th e performance of its tasks or its financial ability to 
fulfil its mandate, both operationally in terms of ma npower, and financially in terms of appropriate 
                                                 
6 See Opinion CON/2010/87, paragraph 3.4. All ECB documents  are available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
ECB-PUBLIC  
4 financial resources7,8. The ECB has consistently recommended in the past in its opinions and convergence 
reports (see reference in footnote 8) that any amendm ent to the legislative provisions on remuneration of 
members of an NCB’s decision-making bodies and st aff should be decided in close and effective 
cooperation with the NCB, taking due account of its vi ews, to ensure the ongo ing ability of the NCB to 
independently carry out its tasks, and that  Member States should not impair the autonomy of their NCBs in staff-related matters. Autonomy in such matters extends to issues relating to staff salaries and 
pensions
9. It is therefore essential that measures such as those in the draft law do not prevent the Banco de 
España or its staff from performing independently th e tasks conferred on them by the Treaty, the Statute 
of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter the ‘Statute of 
the ESCB’) and Spanish legislation, including Law 13/ 1994 of 1 June on the autonomy of the Banco de 
España.  
The ECB understands that pursuant to Article 22 and th e Third Final Provision of the draft law, the Banco 
de España is required to apply auto nomously measures to save staff costs equivalent to those in the Laws 
on the State General Budget adopted each year, while ensuring that the Banco de España’s institutional 
and financial independence are respected and to the extent that the Banco de España’s ongoing ability to 
carry out its tasks is not affected. Conversely, the ECB understands that the Banco de España must not 
take measures to save staff costs equivalent to th ose established for public service staff that would 
interfere with the Banco de Es paña’s ongoing ability to inde pendently carry out its tasks10.   
In particular, an NCB may not be put into a positio n where it has limited control or no control over its 
staff or where the government of a Member St ate can influence is policy on staff matters11. For instance, a 
combination of measures to reduce staff costs with a prohibition on recruiting new staff would directly 
impair the ability of Banco de Espa ña to employ and even possibly re tain qualified staff and may amount 
de jure  to depriving its decision-making bodies of their powers of internal organisation and control over 
staff, or at least to significantly limiting them12. In the light of the Banco de España’s recently expanded 
competences in the field of early intervention, restructuring and resolution of credit institutions, the ECB 
is particularly concerned that qualified and suffici ent human resources will be required, in addition to 
adequate financing. The ECB therefore recommends c onfirmation in the Third Final Provision that the 
Banco de España will not be obliged to take measures if these interfere  with its ability to independently 
carry out its tasks. Based on this understanding, Artic le 22 and the Third Final Provision of the draft law 
are compatible with the principle of central bank independence.  
  7.  Termination of office of the members of the decision making bodies of Banco de España  
                                                 
7 See, for example, the ECB’s Convergence Report 2012, p. 26. 
8  See the latest Opinion CON/2012/6.   
9  See Opinion CON/2010/80, paragraph 3.2.1 an d ECB’s Convergence Report 2012, p. 27. 
10 See Opinion CON/2010/80, paragraph 3.2.2. 
11 See ECB Convergence Report 2012, p. 27. 
12 See by analogy Opinion CON/2010/80, paragraph 3.2.3. 
ECB-PUBLIC  
5 The ECB welcomes the amendment to Article 25(4) of the Law on the autonomy of the Banco de España, 
to the effect that reaching a certain age would no longer be a ground for termination of office of the Governor, the Deputy Governor and the non-ex officio Directors of the Banco de España in line with 
Article 14.2 of the Statute of the ESCB. The ECB understands that by this amendment no compulsory retirement age would apply to the Governor, the Deputy  Governor and the non-ex officio Directors of the 
Banco de España.  
In addition, Article 25(4)(c) of the draft law enum erates grounds for dismissal of the Governor, Deputy 
Governors and the non-ex officio Directors other than  those in Article 14.2 of the Statute of the ESCB. 
Namely, Article 25(4)(c) provides that the
 Governor, the Deputy Governor and the non-ex officio 
Directors may be dismissed ‘due to permanent incap acity to exercise his/her role, serious failure to 
comply with his/her obligations, pr ofessional disqualification or proceedings for a wilful offence’. As 
consistently stated in the ECB’s convergence repor ts, NCB statutes should either contain grounds for 
dismissal which are compatible with those laid down in  Article 14.2 of the Statute, or omit any mention 
of grounds for dismissal since Article 14.2 is directly applicable13 Therefore, Article 25(4)(c) should be 
aligned with Article 14.2 of the Statute of the ESCB. 
The ECB welcomes that Article 25(5) of the draft law provides that any replacement for the Governor, 
the Deputy Governor or a non-ex officio Director, if their position becomes vacant before expiry of their 
term of office, will serve for a full term. As regards the appointment process as such, and being aware that 
appointment to any of these positions has to follow a series of procedural steps involving several public 
bodies and authorities, the ECB also sees the need  to ensure the timely appointment of the new  Governor, 
new Deputy Governors or new non-ex officio Director s, as the case may be, safeguarding the smooth and 
continuous functioning of the NCBs’ decision-making bodies.  
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.   Done at Frankfurt am Main, 15 November 2012. 
 
[signed]  
 
The President of the ECB 
Mario DRAGHI 
                                                 
13 See for example the ECB’s Convergence Report 2012, p. 24.