Text proposed by the Commission Amendments proposed by the ECB (1)

Amendment 1

Article 2(b) of the draft Vatican decision

‘(b) The Vatican City State shall undertake to adopt all appropriate measures, through direct transpositions or possibly equivalent actions, for the application of all relevant Community legislation on the prevention of money laundering, on the prevention of fraud and counterfeiting of cash and non-cash means of payment.’ ‘(b) The Vatican City State shall undertake to adopt all appropriate measures, through direct transpositions or possibly equivalent actions, for the application of all relevant Community legislation on the prevention of money laundering, on the prevention of fraud and counterfeiting of cash and non-cash means of payment. It shall also undertake to adopt all relevant Community banking and financial legislation if and when a banking sector is created in the Vatican City State.’

Explanation: In order to ensure a level playing field, it would be advisable that the Vatican agreement is amended to cater for the applicable legal situation should a banking sector be developed in the Vatican City State in the future.

Amendment 2

Article 2(d) of the draft Vatican decision

‘(d) A Joint Committee shall be established in order to monitor the progress in the implementation of the Agreement. It shall be composed of representatives of the Vatican City State, the Republic of Italy, the Commission and the ECB. It shall have the possibility to revise each year the fixed part with a view to taking into account inflation and the evolution of the collector market. It shall adopt decisions unanimously. The Joint Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.’ ‘(d) A Joint Committee shall be established in order to monitor the progress in the implementation of the Agreement. It shall be composed of representatives of the Vatican City State, the Republic of Italy, the Commission and the ECB. It shall have the possibility to revise each year the fixed part with a view to taking into account inflation and the evolution of the collector market. It shall examine every five years the adequacy of the minimum proportion of coins to be introduced at face value and may decide to increase it. It shall adopt decisions unanimously. The Joint Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.’

Explanation: The ECB notes that Article 2(c) of the draft Vatican decision refers to a minimum proportion of coins to be introduced at face value at 51 %. The ECB considers that the adequacy of this minimum proportion should be reviewed at regular intervals, and suggests a simplified procedure to change it.

Amendment 3

Article 2(e) of the draft Vatican decision

‘(e) The euro coins of the Vatican City State shall be minted by the Instituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato. The Vatican City State shall however have the possibility to take another contractor among the EU Mints striking euro coins, with the agreement of the Joint Committee. The volume of coins issued by the Vatican City State shall be added to the volume of coins issued by the home country of the producing mint for the purpose of the ECB approval of the total volume of the issuance.’ ‘(e) The euro coins of the Vatican City State shall be minted by the Instituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato. The Vatican City State shall however have the possibility to take another contractor among the EU Mints striking euro coins, with the agreement of the Joint Committee. The volume of coins issued by the Vatican City State shall be added to the volume of coins issued by the home country of the producing mint Italy for the purpose of the ECB’s approval of the total volume of the issuance.’

Explanation: Adding the volume to the home country of the producing mint would create a number of practical problems concerning the stability of reporting obligations vis-à-vis the ECB on coins issued in circumstances where the home country of the producing mint might change from time to time. Given that this reporting is not currently carried out by mints, greater predictability could be assured by the volume of coins issued by the Vatican City State being added to the volume of coins issued by Italy, with the result that the Italian and Vatican authorities would cooperate for purposes of reporting coin issuance volumes to the ECB.

Amendment 4

Article 3 of the draft Vatican decision

‘The negotiations with the Vatican City State shall be conducted by the Italian Republic and the Commission on behalf of the Community. The European Central Bank shall be fully associated with the negotiations in its field of competence. The Italian Republic and the Commission shall submit the draft agreement to the Economic and Financial Committee for opinion.’ ‘The negotiations with the Vatican City State shall be conducted by the Italian Republic and the Commission on behalf of the Community. The European Central Bank shall be fully associated with the negotiations and its agreement shall be required on issues falling within its field of competence. The Italian Republic and the Commission shall submit the draft agreement to the Economic and Financial Committee for opinion.’

Explanation: Given the monetary nature of the Agreement with the Vatican City State, the ECB considers that, beyond its consultation on the basis of Article 111(3) of the Treaty, it is appropriate and desirable for the ECB to be involved in the negotiations themselves and in the process leading to the conclusion of the agreements. For issues in the agreement falling within the ECB’s fields of competence, the ECB’s agreement should be sought.

Amendment 5

Final provision of the draft Vatican decision

‘This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic and the Commission.’ ‘This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic, and the Commission and the ECB.’

Explanation: Since the draft decision envisages a role for the ECB in the negotiations and the process leading to the conclusion of the agreement, the ECB should also appear in the list of addressees of the decision.

Amendment 6

Article 2(e) of the draft San Marino decision

‘(e) The euro coins of the Republic of San Marino shall be minted by the Instituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato. The Republic of San Marino shall however have the possibility to take another contractor among the EU Mints striking euro coins, with the agreement of the Joint Committee. The volume of coins issued by the Republic of San Marino shall be added to the volume of coins issued by the home country of the producing mint for the purpose of the ECB approval of the total volume of the issuance.’ ‘(e) The euro coins of the Republic of San Marino shall be minted by the Instituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato. The Republic of San Marino shall however have the possibility to take another contractor among the EU Mints striking euro coins, with the agreement of the Joint Committee. The volume of coins issued by the Republic of San Marino shall be added to the volume of coins issued by the home country of the producing mint Italy for the purpose of the ECB’s approval of the total volume of the issuance.’

Explanation: Adding the volume to the home country of the producing mint would create a number of practical problems concerning the stability of reporting obligations vis-à-vis the ECB on coins issued in circumstances where the home country of the producing mint might change from time to time. Given that this reporting is not currently carried out by mints, greater predictability could be assured by the volume of coins issued by the Republic of San Marino being added to the volume of coins issued by Italy, with the result that the Italian authorities and the authorities of San Marino would cooperate for purposes of reporting coin issuance volumes to the ECB.

Amendment 7

Article 3 of the draft San Marino decision

‘The negotiations with the Republic of San Marino shall be conducted by the Italian Republic and the Commission on behalf of the Community. The European Central Bank shall be fully associated with the negotiations in its field of competence. The Italian Republic and the Commission shall submit the draft agreement to the Economic and Financial Committee for opinion.’ ‘The negotiations with the Republic of San Marino shall be conducted by the Italian Republic and the Commission on behalf of the Community. The European Central Bank shall be fully associated with the negotiations and its agreement shall be required on issues falling within its field of competence. The Italian Republic and the Commission shall submit the draft agreement to the Economic and Financial Committee for opinion.’

Explanation: Given the monetary nature of the Agreement with the Republic of San Marino, the ECB considers that, beyond its consultation on the basis of Article 111(3) of the Treaty, it is appropriate and desirable for the ECB to be involved in the negotiations themselves and in the process leading to the conclusion of the agreements. For issues in the agreement falling within the ECB’s fields of competence, the ECB’s agreement should be sought.

Amendment 8

Final provision of the draft San Marino decision

‘This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic and the Commission.’ ‘This Decision is addressed to the Italian Republic, and the Commission and the ECB.’