WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1438/98 by José GARCÍA-MARGALLO Y MARFIL to the Commission. Euro 1999
Date: 1998-05-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Economic and Monetary Union, European Monetary System, bank charges, central bank, currency convertibility, euro, monetary integration, monetary policy, transitional period (EU)

C 402/134

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.12.98

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission

(11 June 1998)

The French authorities notified in accordance with Council Directive 83/189/EEC of 28 March 1983 laying down
a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations (1) the four draft
decrees concerning the implementation of the cryptography provisions of the French telecommunications law.
The Commission commented in all four cases on the draft legislation. Recently, the French authorities formally
adopted the decrees.

The French legislation distinguishes between, on the one hand, confidentiality products and services and, on the
other hand, authentication, i.e. digital signatures, products and services.

With regard to confidentiality products and services the French legislation provides rules on their use, on the
supply of low security products, on service providers established in France and on other supplies as products or
services. Following the Commission(cid:146)s interpretation, there are no restrictions on their use if an authorised service
provider is used, otherwise prior authorisation is needed. The supply of low security products is subject to a prior
declaration procedure. Service providers established in France are obliged to meet a special prior authorisation
procedure and for other supplies of products or services a prior authorisation procedure is stipulated.

The special prior authorisation procedure concerning providers of confidentiality services established on French
territory does not contain, in the version which has been adopted, the requirement that a majority of the members
of the board must possess French nationality. The decree only requires that the service providers employ a
sufficient number of staff qualifying under decree 81-514 concerning the protection of defence and national
security secrets.

The Commission reconfirms the position taken in the communication on digital signatures and encryption (2),
which made clear that it would monitor closely the behaviour of Member States in the field of cryptography and
assess the relevant national provisions with regard to their compatibility with the EC Treaty, the case law of the
Court of justice and the requirements imposed by Directive 95/46/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of
24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free
movement of such data (3) and Directive 97/66/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997
concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector (4).

(1) OJ L 109, 26.4.1983.
(2) COM(97) 503 final.
(3) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995.
(4) OJ L 24, 30.1.1998.

(98/C 402/177)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1438/98

by JosØ Garc(cid:237)a-Margallo y Marfil (PPE) to the Commission

(11 May 1998)

Subject: Euro 1999

Council Regulation (EC) 1103/97 (1) on certain provisions relating to the introduction of the euro, together with
the draft Regulation on the introduction of the euro to be approved immediately after 2 May, apparently seek to
prevent banks from charging for the conversion of incoming payments or the conversion of accounts at the end of
the transitional period.

Has the Commission made provision for control measures to achieve this goal?

(1) OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1.