98/382/EC: Council Decision of 5 June 1998 on the statistical data to be used for the determination of the key for subscription of the capital of the European Central Bank
Date: 1998-06-05
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: EU statistics, European Central Bank, European accounting system, gross domestic product

17. 6. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 171/33

COUNCIL DECISION

of 5 June 1998

on the statistical data to be used for the determination of the key for subscription
of the capital of the European Central Bank

(98/382/EC)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community and in particular Article 29.2 of the Protocol
on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks
and of the European Central Bank annexed thereto,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parlia-
ment (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Monetary
Institute (3),

Acting in accordance with the procedure provided for in
Article 106(6) of the Treaty and in Article 42 of the said
Protocol,

(1) Whereas the European Central Bank (ECB) will be
its Executive Board is

soon as

established as
appointed;

(2) Whereas the initial capital of the ECB, which shall
become operational upon its establishment, is ECU
5 000 million;

(3) Whereas the national central banks will be the sole
subscribers to, and holders of, the capital of the ECB;

(4) Whereas the key for the subscription of the ECB’s
capital will be determined when the ECB is estab-
lished;

(5) Whereas the statistical data to be used for the estab-
lishment of the key will be provided by the Commis-
sion in accordance with the rules adopted by the
Council;

(6) Whereas the nature of, and sources for, the data to be
used and the method of calculation of the weighting
of national central banks in the key must be defined;

(7) Whereas Council Directive 89/130/EEC, Euratom of
13 February 1989 on the harmonisation of the compi-
lation of gross national product at market prices (4)
introduces a procedure for the adoption by Member
States of data on the gross domestic product at market
prices; whereas Member States must take all the neces-

(1) OJ C 118, 17. 4. 1998, p. 13.
(2) Opinion delivered on 28 May 1998 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(3) Opinion delivered on 6 April 1998 (not yet published in the

Official Journal).

(4) OJ L 49, 21. 2. 1989, p. 26.

sary steps to ensure that these data are transmitted to
the Commission,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The statistical data to be used for the determination of the
key for subscription of the capital of the ECB shall be
provided by the Commission in accordance with the rules
laid down in the following Articles.

Article 2

Population and gross domestic product at market prices,
hereinafter referred to as ‘GDP mp', shall be defined
according
Integrated
to the European System of
Economic Accounts (ESA) in the version which is used
for the application of Directive 89/130/EEC, Euratom.
GDP mp shall mean GDP mp as defined in Article 2 of
that Directive.

Article 3

The data on population shall be taken for the year 1996.
The mean of the total population over the course of the
year shall be used in accordance with the ESA recom-
mendation.

Article 4

The data on GDP mp shall be taken for each of the years
1991 to 1995. The data on GDP mp for each Member
State shall be expressed in the national currency at
current prices.

Article 5

The data on population shall be collected by the
Commission (Eurostat) from Member States.

Article 6

The data on GDP mp for the years 1991 to 1995 shall
result
from the application of Directive 89/130/EEC,
Euratom.

L 171/34

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

17. 6. 98

Article 7

1.
The share of a Member State in the population of the
Community shall be its share in the sum of the popula-
tion of the Member States, expressed as a percentage.

2.
The GDP mp data for each year and each Member
State expressed in national currencies shall be converted
into figures expressed in ecus. The exchange rate used for
this purpose shall be the average of the exchange rates for
all working days in a year. The daily exchange rate shall
be the rate calculated by the Commission and published
in the ‘C' series of the Official Journal of the European
Communities.

The share of a Member State in GDP mp of the
3.
Community shall be its share in the sum of GDP mp of
the Member States over five years, expressed as a per-
centage.

Article 8

The weighting of a national central bank in the key shall
be the arithmetic mean of the shares of the Member State

concerned in the population and in the GDP mp of the
Community.

Article 9

The various steps of calculation shall use sufficient digits
to ensure their accuracy. The weighting of national
central banks in the key shall be expressed to four
decimal places.

Article 10

The data referred to in this Decision shall be commun-
icated by the Commission to the ECB as soon as possible
after its establishment.

Done at Luxembourg, 5 June 1998.

For the Council

The President

G. BROWN