Opinion of the European Monetary Institute at the request of the Council of the European Union under Article 105a (2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community (the “Treaty”) on a proposal from the Commission for a Council Regulation (EC) on the denominations and technical specifications of the euro coins (CON/97/13)
Date: 1997-07-24
Institutions: European Monetary Institute
Subjects: euro, issuing of currency, money

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN MONETARY INSTITUTE

CON/97/13

CONFIDENTIAL

at the request of the Council of the European Union under Article 105a (2) of the Treaty

establishing the European Community (the “Treaty”) on a proposal from the Commission for

a Council Regulation (EC) on the denominations and technical specifications of the euro

coins

1.

The  present  opinion  was  requested  in  a  letter  dated  26  June  1997  from  the  Council  of  the

European Union which, for this purpose, transmitted to the EMI document COM (97) 247 final

containing the text of the Commission proposal for an EU Council Regulation and its explanatory

memorandum. The EMI is competent for this consultation, in accordance with Articles 105a (2)

and 109f (8) of the Treaty. However, since this proposal will only be adopted once the ECB has

been  established,  the  present  opinion  of  the  EMI  does  not  preclude  the  formulation  of  a

subsequent opinion by the ECB.

2.

The  objective  of  the  draft  Regulation  is  to  define  in  greater  detail  the  denominations  and

technical  specifications  of  the  future  euro  coins.  There  will  be  eight  euro  coins  ranging  from  1

cent  to  EURO  2.  The  draft  Regulation  takes  full  account  of  the  detailed  consultation  of

consumer groups (in particular the blind and partially sighted) and representatives of the vending

machine  industry.  It  also  reflects  a  considerable  amount  of  preparatory  work  by  the  Mint

Directors’  Working  Group.  The  draft  Regulation  incorporates  a  number  of  features  to  aid

recognition  of  the  coins  by  the  blind  and  partially  sighted  (e.g.  their  shape  and  milling);  it

addresses public health concerns in a positive manner by minimising the use of nickel (only the

EURO 1 and EURO 2 coins will contain any nickel and the most widely used low and mid-range

coins - which will represent 92% of the euro coins in circulation - will be nickel-free); and it is

compatible  with  the  timetable  established  at  the  European  Council  meeting  in  Madrid  for  the

introduction of the euro banknotes and coins on 1 January 2002 at the latest.

3.

The EMI welcomes the intention to make the various denominations of the individual euro coins -

as in the case of the euro banknotes - easily recognisable by means of different shapes, colours

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and  tactile  features.  The  EMI  considers  it  important  to  achieve  the  highest  possible  degree  of

acceptance  by  all  the  potential  users  of  the  euro  banknotes  and  coins  and  appreciates  the  fact

that  consumer  groups  and  the  European  Blind  Union  have  been  thoroughly  consulted  in  the

preparatory phase.

4.

In  the  preparatory  work  on  the  euro  banknotes  and  coins,  the  EMI  and  the  Mint  Directors’

Working  Group  have  liaised  closely  to  exchange  views  on  all  the  technical  details  of  mutual

interest, including the design process.

5.

The  sequencing  of  denominations  (1  :  2  :  5)  was  agreed  at  an  early  stage.  As  to  the

banknote/coin  boundary,  the  proposal  that  the  EURO  2  denomination  should  be  a  coin  and  the

EURO  5  denomination  a  banknote  was  endorsed  by  the  EMI  Council  and  the  EU  Finance

Ministers in March/April 1995.

6.

Even though the design of the euro coins does not form part of the technical specifications dealt

with in the draft Regulation, the EMI notes that the euro coins will have a common side and a

national side, with each Member State being responsible for choosing its respective national side.

As all the euro coins will be legal tender throughout the euro area, there will be no need for any

repatriation of coins to their original country of issue. Nevertheless, the EMI would like to stress

the importance of promoting a euro area-wide acceptance and minimising risks of counterfeiting,

inter  alia  by  producing  national  design  variants  in  the  context  of  a  common  overall  framework.

The notion of euro area-wide acceptance includes the technical usability of the euro coins, e.g.

their acceptance by all kinds of vending machines everywhere in the euro area.

7.

The EMI welcomes the fact that early political agreement on this draft Regulation will make it

possible  to  undertake  further  preparatory  work  with  a  view  to  starting  production  of  the  euro

coins in the second half of 1998. This will make it possible to respect the timetable agreed at the

European Council meeting in Madrid for the joint introduction of the euro banknotes and coins.

8.

This opinion will be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

24 July 1997