COMMON POSITION (EC) No 11/1999 adopted by the Council on 21 December 1998 with a view to adopting Council Regulation (EC) No .../1999 of ... amending Regulation (EC) No 975/98 on denominations and technical specifications of euro coins intended for circulation
Date: 1998-12-21
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: euro, issue of securities, monetary union, money, technical specification

25.2.1999

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C 55/35

COMMON  POSITION  (EC)  No  11/1999

adopted  by  the  Council  on  21  December  1998

with  a  view  to  adopting  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  . . ./1999  of  . . .  amending  Regulation
(EC)  No  975/98  on  denominations  and  technical  specifications  of  euro  coins  intended  for
circulation

(1999/C 55/04)

THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community,  and  in  particular  Article  105a(2)  thereof,

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

Having  regard  to  the  opinion  of  the  European  Central
Bank (2),

Acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in
Article  189c  of  the  Treaty (3),

the 

technical 

Whereas  Article  1  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  975/98 (4)  sets
out 
eight
denominations  included  in  the  first  series  of  euro  coins;
whereas  the  mint  directors  have  drawn  up,  on  the  basis
of  that  Regulation,  the  more  detailed  specifications
necessary  for  production;

specifications 

the 

of 

from the first production runs, has complained about the
edge  milling  of  the  50  cent  and  10  cent  coins  which  did
not  match  the  milling  of  the  samples  agreed  by  it  during
the  consultation  process  preceding  the  adoption  of
Regulation  (EC)  No  975/98;  whereas,  in  order  to  ensure
the  acceptance  of  the  new  system  by  the  users,  it  seems
desirable  to  accede  to  the  requests  expressed  both  by  the
vending industry and the European Blind Union; whereas
in  order  to  satisfy  the  vending  industry’s  requirements,  it
is  necessary  to  increase  the  weight  of  the  50  cent  coin
from  7  g  to  7,8  g;  whereas  in  order  to  satisfy  the
European  Blind  Union’s  requirements  and  avoid  any  risk
of  misinterpretation  in  the  future,  it  is  desirable  to
modify  the  specification  for  the  edge  of  the  50  cent  and
10  cent  coins  from  ‘coarse  milling’  to  ‘shaped  edge  with
fine  scallops’  which  better  reflects  the  shape  of  the  edge
originally  agreed  by  the  European  Blind  Union  for  those
two  coins;

Whereas  it  is  essential  that  the  modifications  of  the
technical  specifications  be  confined  to  the  weight  of  the
50  cent  coin  and  the  edge  of  the  10  cent  and  50  cent
coins 
in  order  not  to  compromise  the  production
timetable  and  the  introduction  of  the  euro  coins  on
1  January  2002,

Whereas  the  vending  industry,  having  examined  those
detailed  specifications,  has  requested  an  increase  of  the
weight  of  the  50  cent  coin  in  order  to  ensure  clearer
differentiation  of  that  coin  and  reduce  risks  of  fraud;
whereas the European Blind Union, having tested samples

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  REGULATION:

Article  1

(1) OJ  C  296,  24.9.1998,  p.  10.
(2) Opinion  delivered  on  16  November  1998  (not  yet  published

in  the  Official  Journal).

(3) Opinion  of  the  European  Parliament  of  17  November  1998
(OJ  C  379,  7.12.1998),  Council  common  position  of
21 December 1998 and Decision of the European Parliament
of  . . .  (not  yet  published  in  the  Official  Journal).

(4) OJ  L  139,  11.5.1998,  p.  6.

In Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 975/98, the table shall
be  amended  as  follows:

1. The  fourth  row  relating  to  the  50  cent  coin  shall  be

amended  as  follows:

C 55/36

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

25.2.1999

(a)

in  the  third  column,  the  figure  ‘1,69’  shall  be
replaced  by  ‘1,88’;

2.

In  the  sixth  row  relating  to  the  10  cent  coin,  in  the
eighth  column,  the  words  ‘coarse  milled’  shall  be
replaced  by  ‘shaped  edge  with  fine  scallops’.

(b)

in  the  fourth  column,  the  figure  ‘7’  shall  be
replaced  by  ‘7,8’;

(c)

in  the  eighth  column,  the  words  ‘coarse  milled’
shall  be  replaced  by  ‘shaped  edge  with  fine
scallops’.

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  1  January
1999.

Article  2

This  Regulation  shall  be  binding  in  its  entirety  and  directly  applicable  in  all  Member  States,  in
accordance  with  the  Treaty,  subject  to  Article  109k(1)  and  Protocols  11  and  12.

Done  at  . . .

For  the  Council

The  President

25.2.1999

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C 55/37

STATEMENT  OF  THE  COUNCIL’S  REASONS

I.

INTRODUCTION

1. On  1  September  1998,  the  Commission  forwarded  to  the  Council  the  above  proposal
for a Regulation, based on Article 105a(2) of the EC Treaty, in order to amend Council
Regulation  (EC)  No  975/98  in  respect  to  certain  technical  characteristics  of  the  50  and
10  cent  euro  coins.  The  procedure  of  Article  189c  of  the  Treaty  is  applicable  for  the
adoption  of  this  Regulation.

2. The  European  Parliament  delivered,  in  first  reading,  an  opinion  on  18  November

1998.

The  Commission  does  not  intend  to  present  at  this  stage  an  altered  proposal  pursuant
to  Article  189a(2)  of  the  Treaty.

3. On  21  December  1998  the  Council  adopted  its  common  position  pursuant  to

Article  189c(a)  of  the  Treaty.

II. OBJECTIVE

The  above  proposal  seeks  to  modify  certain  technical  characteristics  of  the  50  and  10  cent
euro  coins  laid  down  in  Regulation  (EC)  No  975/98  in  order  to  meet  specific  concerns
expressed  by  the  European  Blind  Union  and  by  the  vending  machine  industry.  Thus,  it
proposes  exclusively  an  increase  of  the  weight  of  the  50  cent  coin  and  a  change  of  the
definition of the edge of both the 50 and 10 cent coins. The Commission does not propose
to  modify  any  other  features  (denominations  and  technical  specifications)  of  Regulation
(EC)  No  975/98.

The  objective  of  making  the  technical  characteristics  of  these  coins  more  user-friendly  was
welcomed  by  Ministers  of  the  (Ecofin)  Council  of  6  July  1998.

III. ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COMMON  POSITION

The  common  position  of  the  Council  is  identical  to  the  Commission  proposal.

The only amendment voted by the European Parliament on 18 November 1998 suggests the
introduction  of  a  gold  coin  intended  for  circulation  with  a  face  value  of  100  euro.

The  common  position  of  the  Council  does  not  include  this  amendment.

In  this  respect  the  Council  recalls  its  statement  of  reasons  on  its  common  position  (EC)
No 1/98 adopted by the Council on 20 November 1997 with a view to adopting Regulation
(EC)  No  975/98  on  denominations  and  technical  specifications  of  euro  coins  intended  for
circulation  (OJ  C  23,  23.1.1998,  p.  4)  in  which  the  Council  justifies  the  rejection  of  the
same  amendment  at  the  time.  Indeed,  the  suggestion  to  issue  a  gold  coin  with  a  face  value
of  100  euro  cannot  be  accepted  by  the  Council  on  grounds  relating  to  the  very  likely
discrepancy  between  market  value  and  nominal  value,  to  the  risk  of  speculative  hoarding
and  the  already  planned  issue  of  a  100  euro  banknote.

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Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

25.2.1999

IV. CONCLUSION

The  Council  considers  that:

— its  common  position  responds  to  the  political  willingness  of  the  Ecofin  Council  on
6  July  1998  to  make  the  50  and  10  cent  euro  coins  more  user-friendly  and  that  it  will
meet  the  concerns  expressed  in  this  respect  by  the  European  Blind  Union  and  the
vending  machine  industry,

— it is essential to adopt swiftly these limited technical modifications in order to allow the

production  of  all  euro  coins  to  start  as  soon  as  possible.