OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
at the request of the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry of the French Republic
under Articles 109l (2) and 109f (6) of the Trea ty establishing the European Community and
Article 1.1, second indent, of the Council Decision 93/717/EC
on a draft Decree modifying the Decree of 3 December 1993 on the Banque de France
CON/98/62
1. On 14 December 1998 the European Central Bank  (ECB) received a request from the Ministry
of the Economy, Finance and Industry of the Fr ench Republic for an ECB Opinion on a draft
Decree modifying the Decree of 3 Decembe r 1998 on the Banque de France (hereinafter
referred to as the Draft Decree).
2. In accordance with Article 1091 (2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community
(hereinafter referred to as the Treaty), the E CB has taken over the advisory functions of the
European Monetary Institute (EMI), which went  into liquidation upon the establishment of the
ECB on 1 June 1998. The ECBs competence to deliver an opinion is based on Article 1.1,
second indent, of the Council Decision (93/717/EC) of 22 November 1993 on the consultation
of the EMI by the authorities of the Member Stat es on draft legislative provisions, as the Draft
Decree contains provisions con cerning the status and powers of  the Banque de France and the
instruments of monetary policy. In accordance w ith Article 17.5, first sentence, of the Rules of
Procedure of the ECB, this ECB Opinion has been adopted by the Governing Council of the
ECB. 
3. The ECB understands that the Draft Decree is in tended to change the provisions of Decree
No. 93-1278 of 3 December 1993, implementing th e Law on the Statute of the Banque de
France, and, more precisely, the provisions of Title III  Budgetary and Internal Finance and
Title IV  Accounting regime of the Banque de France . The modifications introduced by the
Draft Decree are essentially of a technical nature  (accounting regime) or repeal legal acts which
will no longer be valid after the start of th e third stage of Economic and Monetary Union.
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4. The ECB welcomes the Draft Decree, which w ill establish the legal regime for a modified
accounting regime of the Banque de France, taking into account general accounting andreporting regime of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
5. The ECB understands that Articles 1 and 4 of the Draft Decree involve only changes in
references made in the Decree of 3 December 1993 to the Article of the Law on the Statute ofthe Banque de France referring to the agreemen t signed between the Banque de France and the
State for the management of the foreign reserves of the State. These modifications are the result
of amendments made in the articles of the St atute of the Banque de France concerning this
agreement (Law of 12 May 1998). They do not enta il any modifications to the substance of the
previous text.
6. The ECB welcomes Article 2 of the Draft Decree, which (i) deletes the reference previously
made to Article 16, first indent, of the French  Code of Commerce, wh ich states that French
companies shall produce their financial statements  in French francs and in French language;
(ii) states the obligation for the Banque de Fran ce to establish its financial statements in euro
and in French language; and (iii) deletes any reference to sub-divisions of the item own fundsin the balance sheet of the Banque de France.
7. The ECB welcomes Article 3 of the Draft D ecree, which explicitly takes into account the
submission of the accounting regime of the Banque de France to the mandatory accounting andvaluation rules of the ESCB. Operations othe r than those which are regulated by mandatory
rules adopted by the ECB will still be regulated according to the new legal regime implemented
in France in the field of accounting (Law of  6 April 1998, which created the Committee for
Accounting Regulations, vested with regulatory powers). The Banque de France also has the
option of deciding upon adopting non-mandatory accounting rules of the ESCB.
8. The ECB understands that Article 5 of the Draft Decree is a purely technical provision deleting
the provision contained in the previous Decree concerning the date of its entry into force.
9. The ECB welcomes Article 6 of the Draft Decree, which states that the independent external
auditors of the Banque de France shall be appointed by the General Council of the Banque deFrance in accordance with the relevant provisions  of Article 27.1 of the Statute of the European
System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter referred to as the
Statute).
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10. The ECB takes note that Article 7 of the Draf t Decree is not related to accounting matters.
Article 7 repeals Article 13 of the Decree of 24 July 1984, which vested the Banque de France
with the power to enter into an  agreement to delegate to the Institut démission des
départements doutre-mer (IEDOM) and to the Institut démission doutre-mer (IEOM) the
power to define a system of minimum reserves . The ECB recalls that, according to the Treaty,
for those territories which are part of the Co mmunity, the Banque de France will no longer have
any power to delegate to the IEDOM, given the fact that the power to impose a minimumreserves system will have been transferred to the Community in accordance with the Treaty.
The ECB takes note that, for those territories which are not part of the Community, the Banque
de France will no longer be vested with the power to delegate to the IEOM the power to imposea minimum reserve system. The ECB concludes that, from 1 January 1999, the imposition ofthe minimum reserve system defined by the Go verning Council of the ECB, in accordance with
the Treaty, will be implemented by the Banque de France in those territories of the FrenchRepublic in which the IEDOM was previously delegated by the Banque de France the power todefine and implement a minimum reserve system.
The ECB takes note that the definition and impl ementation of a minimum reserves system to
credit institutions located outside the Commun ity, which was previously delegated to the
IEOM, does not fall within the field of competen ce of the ECB, as long as it does not conflict
with the provisions of the Statute.
11. The ECB understands that Article 8 of the Draft Decree is a purely technical provision deleting
the provision of the previous Decree on the publi cation in the Official Journal of the French
Republic of decisions of the governing bodies  of the Banque de France concerning the
minimum reserve system and the features of ne w banknotes issued by the Banque de France. 
12. The ECB confirms that it has no objection to this ECB Opinion being made public by the
competent national authorities at their discretion.
Done at Frankfurt am Main on 30 December 1998.
The President of the ECB
[signed]
Willem F. Duisenberg