EN ECB -PUBLIC  
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK  
of 19 September  2022  
on the donation of the proceeds of the issuance of numismatic coins for the general support o f 
Ukrainian society  
(CON/20 22/35) 
 
Introduction and legal basis  
On 8 September 2022,  the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from Latvijas Banka for an 
opinion on amendments to the Law on Assistance to Ukrainian Civilians (hereinafter the ‘draft law’)1. 
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 the first and third indents of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 
98/415/EC2, as the draft law relates  to currency matters and Latvijas Banka. 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 law  
1.1 The draft law enables  Latvijas Banka , on the basis of an independent  decision of the Council of 
Latvijas Banka,  to donate some of the proceeds  of the sale of Ukrainian- specific euro collector and 
commemorative coins issued by Latvijas Banka for the general support of Ukrain ian soci ety3. As 
noted in the explanatory memorandum accompanying the draft law, Latvijas Banka will organise 
and implement the design, manufacture, delivery and issuance of these coins in accordance with 
its existing tasks as the legal issuer of all coins in Latvia4. Latvijas Banka, when  deciding on the 
amount of the donation, will be bound by the limit set by the draft law . Accordingly,  Latvijas Banka 
may, from the income generated from the sale of the euro coins,  donate no more than that part of 
the income exceeding the direct expenditur e related to the production of the coins  in question5.  
1.2 As noted in the explanatory memorandum, the 2022- 23 programme for the issuance of numismatic 
coins approved by the Council of Latvijas Banka foresees, as an expression of solidarity with 
Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, the issuance of two numismatic coins whose design is de dicated 
to Ukraine: ( i) a 5-euro collector coin dedicated to the theme of responsibility , planned to be issued 
 
1  Although the ECB understands that Latvijas  Banka does not have a formal right of legislative initiative in this respect, 
the explanatory memorandum accompanying the draft law states that the draft law has been drawn up at the 
initiative of Latvijas Banka. The ECB understands  that Latvijas Banka intends to present the draft law to the 
competent committee of the Latvian Parliament for further consideration.  
2  Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42).  
3  See Paragraph 1 of the proposed Section 11.3 of the draft law . 
4  See Paragraph 5 of Article 4 and Part 1 of Article 34 of the  Law on Latvijas Banka.  
5  See Paragraph  2 of the proposed Section 11.3 of the draft law . 
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2 at the end of 2022;  and (ii) a 2-euro commemorative coin dedicated to the Ukrainian sunflower , 
planned to be issued in March/April 2023.  
1.3 As noted in the explanatory memorandum, the possibility for Latvijas Banka to donate part of the 
proceeds from the sale of these coins to  the general support of Ukrainian s ociety is not allowed by 
existing Latvian leg islation. In particular, the Law On Prevention of Squandering  of the F inancial 
Resources and Property of a Public Person prohibits a public person, including Latvijas  Banka, 
from donating financial resources or property to other persons, except in cases specifically 
provided for by law  or Government regulations6.  
1.4 The draft law provides that Latvijas Banka will be obliged to respect the limits laid down in the Law 
On Prevention of S quandering  of the Financial Resources and Property of a Public Person, insofar 
as the draft law does not provide otherwise7. As noted in the explanatory memorandum, this 
implies  an obligation for Latvijas Banka to, as far as possible, follow the use of the donation in 
accordance with its purpose. The explanatory memorandum further specifies  that the donation ’s 
purpose will be selected by the Council of Latvijas Banka in close consultation and cooperation 
with the National Bank of Ukraine.  
1.5 As noted in the explanatory memorandum, according to estimates made by Latvijas Banka, the maximum amount donated, as set out in the draft law, is estimated to range from EUR 200,000 to 
EUR 250,000. It is not possible to predict the exact amount of the donation as the exact amount of 
direct expenditure related to the production of these coins, including the price of precious metals and the cost of minting, and the volume and selling prices of  the coins ha ve not yet been 
confirmed.   
 
2. General observations  
2.1 Given that Latvijas Banka is the legal issuer of all coins in Latvia
8, no new task to issue numismatic 
coins dedicated to Ukraine is attributed to Latvijas  Banka by the draft law. In this respect, and in 
view of the existing prohibition under Latvian law on Latvijas Banka donating financial resources to 
any person, abs ent specific authorisation by law, the ECB understands that the main motivation of 
the draf t law is to authorise Latvijas Banka,  as part of its public outreach task , to donate some of 
the proceeds of the issuance of the numismatic coins dedicated to Ukraine.  
2.2 The draft law does not specify the total volume  of Ukrain e-specific coins that Latv ijas Banka will 
issue . Article 128(2) of the TFEU establishes that Member States may issue coins subject to 
approval by the ECB of the volume of the issue. Decision  (EU) 2015/2332 of the European Central 
Bank  (ECB/2015/43)9 establishes that the ECB adopts a decision on the approval of the annual 
volume of coin issuance for the euro area before the end of the calendar year preceding the year 
for which the requests for approval by euro area Member States are made. The ECB understands 
 
6  See Section 10 of the L aw On Prevention of t he Squandering of the Financial Resources and Property of a Public 
Person . 
7  See Paragraph 3  of the proposed Section 11.3 of the draft law . 
8  See Paragraph 5 of Article 4 and Part 1 of Article 34 of the L aw on Latvijas Banka.  
9   Decision (EU) 2015/2332 of the European Central Bank of 4 December 2015 on the procedural framework for the 
approval of the volume of euro coin issuance (ECB/2015/43)  (OJ L 328, 12.12.2015, p. 123).  
ECB -PUBLIC  
3 that the issuance of Ukraine -specific collector and commemorative coins will remain within the 
volume of coin issuance approved by the ECB for Latvia for 2022 and (to be approved) for 2023, 
respectively . 
2.3 Furthermore, the ECB would like to draw attention to the limitations relating to the total volume  of 
commemorative coins put into circulation for each individual issue ( as provided for  in Article 4 of the 
Regulation (EU) No 651/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council10) and the propor tion 
of circulation coins (including commemorative coins) that may be put on the market above face 
value (in accordance with Article 3(2) of Regulation (EU) 651/2012). The ECB understands that the 
Ukrain e-specific euro collector and commemorative coins will be issued (and sold) within the 
aforementioned limits . 
 
3. Compliance with monetary financing  prohibition  
3.1.  Article 123(1) of the T FEU prohibit s national central banks (hereinafter the ‘NCBs’) from granting 
overdraft facilities or any other type of  credit facilit y in favour of the Member States. It also prohibits 
measures that circumvent the objective of the prohibition and undermine its effectiveness by either 
having an effect equivalent to that of such  facilities or, although they do not have such an effect, by 
reducing the impetus of  Member States to follow a sound budgetary policy11.  
3.2 Article 1(1)(b)(ii) of Council Regulation (EC) No 3603/9312 defines, for the purposes of Article 
123(1) of the T FEU, ‘any other type of credit facilit y’, inter alia, as ‘any financing of the public 
sector’s obligations vis -à-vis third parties ’. As Article 14.4 of the Statute of the European System of 
Central Banks  and of the E uropean Central Bank (hereinafter the ‘ Statute of the ESCB ’) allows 
NCBs to perform functions other than those specified in the  Statute of the ESCB, the exercise of 
non-European System of Central Banks (ESCB)  tasks does not necessarily constitute financing of 
the public sector’s obligations vis -à-vis third parties. Rather, a case- by-case assessment is 
required as to whether this  exercise has an equivalent effect to such financing or reduces the 
impetus of Member States to fol low a sound budgetary policy.  
3.3 The exercise of the non- ESCB task of giving donations to cultural, scientific , and charitable activi -
ties and initiatives as part of an NCB’s public outreach13 does not constitute financing of the public 
sector’s obligations vis -à-vis third parties, provided that sufficient safeguards are established to en-
sure that such exercise does not have an equivalent effect to this financing or reduces the impetus 
of Member States to follow a sound budgetary policy.  While the specific set -up of such safeguards 
may vary, they typically  include that those donations  are of a temporary nature and a limited 
 
10  Regulation (EU) No 651/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on the issuance of euro 
coins (OJ L 201, 27.7.2012, p. 135). 
11  See, mutatis mutandis, judgment of the Court of Justice of 16 June 2015, Gauweiler and Others , C-62/14, 
EU:C:2015:400, paragraphs 97, 102 and 111; j udgment  of the Court of Justice  of 11 December 2018, Weiss and 
Others, C -493/17, EU:C:2018:1000, paragraphs 106 to 108.  
12  Council Regulatio n (EC) No 3603/93 of 13 December 1993 specifying definitions for the application of the 
prohibitions referred to in Articles 104 and 104b (1) of the Treaty  (OJ L 332, 31.12.1993, p. 1 ). 
13  NCBs giving donations to trusts administered by the International M onetary Fund or carrying out scientific analyses 
for the benefit of Member States cannot be considered part of an NCB’s public outreach and constitute financing of 
the public sector’s obligation vis- à-vis third parties . See ECB Opinions CON/2016/21 and CON /2021/29,  
respectively.  All ECB opinions are available on EUR -Lex. 
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4 volume to guarantee that NCBs do not de facto take over the public sector’s cultural, scientific , or 
charitable obligations vis -à-vis third parties.  
3.4. The ECB considers that, based on this standard, the draft law complies with the monetary financing 
prohibition.  By donating the income exceeding the direct expenditure related to the production of 
the numismatic coins dedicated to Ukraine to Ukrainian society , Latvijas Banka is exercising the 
non-ESCB task of giving donations to  charitable activities and initiatives as part of its public 
outreach. Am ong others, Latvijas Banka informs the public that the selling price of the numismatic  
coins dedicated to Ukraine exceeds the respective face value of euro coins to provide general 
support to Ukrainian society.   
3.5 The ECB also considers that s ufficient safeguards are established to ensure that the exercise of 
the non- ESCB task of giving donations to  charitable activities and initiatives as part of Latvijas 
Banka’s public outreach do es not circumvent the objective of the monetary financing prohi bition. 
The donation by Latvijas Banka to Ukrainian society  is of a one- off and therefore temporary nature, 
as Latvian law generally  prohibits  a public person, including Latvijas Banka, from donating financial 
resources to other persons . Hence, the main motivation of the draft law is to authorise Latvijas 
Banka to donate in this specific case .  
3.6 The donation to be made by Latvijas Banka to Ukrainian society are also  limited in volume. First, as 
Latvijas Banka only intends to issue numismatic  coins  dedicated to Ukraine  in order to donate the  
resulting  income exceeding the direct expenditure related to the production of these  coins  to 
Ukrainian society , and since  the Latvian public will be aware of this , Latvijas Banka  is de facto 
transferring money from the public to Ukrainian society , rather than using its own resources . 
Second, the issuance volume of the numismatic coins dedicated to Ukraine will neither exceed the 
volume approved by the ECB for 2022 and 2023,  nor involve an ad hoc request to the ECB for 
approval of any additional volume of coin issuance. Finally,  the maximum amount of donation is 
estimated to range from EUR 200,000 to EUR 250,000 .  
 
This opinion will b e published on EUR -Lex.  
 
 
Done at Frankfurt am Main, 19 September  2022.  
 
[signed]  
 
The President of the ECB  
Christine  LAGARDE