OPINION No 8/98 on a proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) establishing an agri-monetary system denominated in euro (reference 98/0214), and a proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) relating to transitional measures concerning the introduction of the use of the euro under the common agricultural policy (reference 98/0215)
Date: 1998-10-15
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: European Monetary System, agri-monetary policy, agricultural expenditure, common agricultural policy, euro, national currency

C  368/16

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

27.11.98

OPINION  No  8/98

on a proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) establishing an agri-monetary system denominated
in  euro  (reference  98/0214),  and  a  proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation  (EC)  relating  to
transitional  measures  concerning  the  introduction  of  the  use  of  the  euro  under  the  common
agricultural  policy  (reference  98/0215)

(98/C  368/02)

THE  COURT  OF  AUDITORS  OF  THE  EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community  and  in  particular  Article  188c(4)  thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 of
3  May  1998  concerning  the  introduction  of  the  euro (1),

Having  regard  to  the  Commission  proposals  of  10  June
1998 (2),

Having regard to the request dated 7 July 1998 from the
Council  for  consultation  of  the  Court  of  Auditors
concerning  the  abovementioned  proposals,  which  the
Court  received  on  23  July  1998,

Whereas  the  introduction  of  the  euro  also  requires  the
adaptation  of  many  constituent  parts  of  the  Financial
and/or  Agricultural  Regulation,  in  particular  Regulation
(EC)  No  296/96 (3),  as  regards  the  payment  of  advances,
the  declaration  of  expenditure  incurred  by  Member
States,  etc.,

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  OPINION:

The  Commission’s  two  proposals  call  for  the  following
observations.

1. The  proposed 
agri-monetary  system  should  allow,  as 

simplification  of 

the  present
the  Court

pointed  out  in  its  Annual  Report  for  the  financial  year
1995 (4),  greater  unification  of  aid  amounts  and
expenditure.
improved 
Nevertheless,  the  latter  will  also  depend,  eventually,  on
the  level  at  which  aid  is  set.

agricultural 

control 

of 

2. The  absence  of  proposals  concerning  the  other
constituent  parts  of  the  Financial  and/or  Agricultural
Regulation, in particular for Regulation (EC) No 296/96,
means  that  the  overall  cohesion  of  the  system  proposed
cannot  be  checked.

3. Proposal  98/0214  contains  a  provision  (Article  8)
which  offers  non-participating  Member  States  the  option
of  paying  the  beneficiaries,  when  settling  expenditure
incurred  in  respect  of  agricultural  policy  measures,  in
euro.  A  Member  State  which  opts  for  this  possibility
must  then  take  the  necessary  steps  to  ensure  that  in  the
event  of  a  variation  in  the  external  value  of  its  national
currency  (a  devaluation  or  a  revaluation)  the  recipient
does not receive an amount higher than would otherwise
have been paid in the national currency (and thus leading
to  inequality  in  the  treatment  of  recipients  in  the  various
Member States). This provision therefore implies the need
for  greater  complexity  in  the  monitoring  and  control  of
such  expenditure.

4. The text of these two proposals should be reviewed in
the  interests  of  clarity,  particularly  in  view  of  the
Commission’s commitment to simplifying the Agricultural
Regulation  and  making  it  more  accessible.

This opinion was adopted by the Court of Auditors in Luxembourg at the Court meeting of 14
and  15  October  1998.

For  the  Court  of  Auditors

Bernhard  FRIEDMANN

President

(1)  OJ  L  139,  11.5.1998.
(2)  COM(1998)367  final,  98/0214(CNS)  and  98/0215(CNS).
(3)  OJ  L  39,  17.2.1996.

(4)  OJ  C  340,  12.11.1996,  paragraphs  2.19-2.34