WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3828/98 by Riccardo GAROSCI Request for the printing and issuing of the euro 500 note to be delayed for a year
Date: 1998-12-15
Institutions: European Parliament, GAROSCI
Subjects: European Central Bank, fraud, industrial counterfeiting, institutional cooperation, issuing of currency, paper money, public awareness campaign

C 289/94

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.10.1999

Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission

(29 January 1999)

One of the three facilities made available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) following Council
Decision 98/347/EC of 19 May 1998 on measures of financial assistance for innovative and job-creating small
and medium-sized enterprises ( the growth and employment initiative (1) is the SME guarantee facility. There
is no requirement for a national guarantee scheme in order for a Member State to benefit from this facility. The
facility is open to all appropriate public or private sector guarantee schemes operating in the Member States
including mutual guarantee schemes. In order to ensure appropriate co-operation with Member States, the
European Investment Fund (EIF), which manages the facility, will contact national authorities before
implementing the facility.

In the case of Italy such contacts have already been taken. As Italy does not have a national scheme, the EIF
plans to launch a national call for expressions of interest in order to select eligible regional guarantee
institutions as intermediaries.

(1) OJ L 155, 29.5.1998.

(1999/C 289/124)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3828/98

by Riccardo Garosci (PPE) to the Council

(15 December 1998)

Subject: Request for the printing and issuing of the euro 500 note to be delayed for a year

The euro will become part of daily life as from 1 January 2002 when bank-notes and coins will be issued.
During the next three years, a period of no obligation, no prohibition, preparations will be made in the public
and private sectors through public information campaigns and business training schemes.

The euro 500 note (worth about ITL 1 million) has too high a face value compared with the notes currently
circulating in the 11 euro countries; no existing note in the EMU is worth euro 500. The public (already
confronted with 7 new bank-notes) and business alike are frightened by the value of the euro 500 note and
could have difficulty accepting it. In addition there are already rumours of counterfeit euros; a die has already
been stolen and there is a danger of receiving. The introduction of the euro must therefore be planned and the
public helped to overcome any psychological or practical difficulty that may arise.

Will the Council therefore delay the printing and issuing of the euro 500 bank-note for one year, from
1 January 2002 to 1 January 2003?

Reply

(29 March 1999)

According to Article 105a of the EC Treaty, the European Central Bank (ECB) has the exclusive right to
authorise the issue of euro bank notes within the Community.

The Council, therefore, has no competence on the matter raised by the Honourable Parliamentarian.

However, during its session of 23 November 1998, the Council stressed the need to combat counterfeiting of
euro bank notes and coins efficiently and invited Member States to intensify their preparations in this respect
in close cooperation with the ECB and the European Commission.