Opinion of the European Central Bank at the request of the Council of the European Union under Article 109l(4) of the Treaty establishing the European Community on a proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) on the conversion rates between the euro and the currencies of the Member States adopting the euro
Date: 1998-12-31
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: EU Member State, European Monetary System, euro, exchange rate, third stage of EMU

31.12.98

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C  412/1

I

(Information)

EUROPEAN  CENTRAL  BANK

OPINION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  CENTRAL  BANK

at  the  request  of  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  under  Article  109l(4)  of  the  Treaty  estab(cid:220)
lishing  the  European  Community  on  a  proposal  for  a  Council  Regulation  (EC)  on  the
conversion  rates  between  the  euro  and  the  currencies  of  the  Member  States  adopting  the  euro

(98/C  412/01)

1.(cid:217)On  31  December  1998  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the
Council  of  the  European  Union  for  an  ECB  opinion  on  the  proposal  of  the  Commission  of
the  European  Communities  (Doc.  COM(1998)  732  dated  9  December  1998)  for  a  Council
Regulation  (EC)  on  the  conversion  rates  between  the  euro  and  the  currencies  of  the
Member  States  adopting  the  euro.  This  proposal  foresees  the  following  conversion  rates:

1  euro =  (cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)40,3399(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)  Belgian  francs

=  (cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)1,95583(cid:217)(cid:217)  German  marks

=  (cid:217)(cid:217)166,386(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)  Spanish  pesetas

=  (cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)6,55957(cid:217)(cid:217)  French  francs

=  (cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)0,787564(cid:217)  Irish  pounds

=  (cid:217)1936,27(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)  Italian  lire

=  (cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)40,3399(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)  Luxembourg  francs

=  (cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)2,20371(cid:217)(cid:217)  Dutch  guilders

=  (cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)13,7603(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)  Austrian  schillings

=  (cid:217)(cid:217)200,482(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)  Portuguese  escudos

=  (cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)(cid:217)5,94573(cid:217)(cid:217)  Finnish  marks

2.(cid:217)The  ECB’s  competence  to  deliver  an  opinion  is  based  on  Article  109l(4),  first  sentence,  of
the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community.  In  accordance  with  Article  17(5)  first
sentence  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  ECB,  this  ECB  opinion  has  been  adopted  by  the
Governing  Council  of  the  ECB.

3.(cid:217)The  ECB  confirms  the  calculation  of  the  proposed  conversion  rates  and  agrees  on  the  use  of
the  instrument  of  a  Council  Regulation  to  ensure  that  the  conversion  rates  adopted  by  the
Council  of  the  European  Union  have  general  application  and  are  legally  binding  in  their
entirety  and  directly  applicable  to  all  legal  instruments  that  refer  to  the  currencies  of  partici(cid:220)
pating  Member  States.

4.(cid:217)The  ECB  welcomes  the  decision  to  adopt  and  publish  the  Council  Regulation  on  31  De(cid:220)
cember  1998  and  to  have  it  enter  into  force  at  0.00  a.m.  local  time  on  1  January  1999.  This
is  to  ensure  that  the  conversion  rates  are  effective  at  the  same  moment  as  the  substitution  of
the  euro  for  the  national  currencies  of  the  participating  Member  States  as  laid  down  in
Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  974/98  of  3  May  1998  on  the  introduction  of  the  euro.

C  412/2

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

31.12.98

5.(cid:217)The  ECB  notes,  that  by  adopting  as  the  conversion  rates  the  exchange  rates  of  the
currencies  of  the  participating  Member  States  vis(cid:220){(cid:220)vis  the  ecu,  as  calculated  by  the
Commission  of  the  European  Communities  and  confirmed  by  the  ECB  on  31  December
1998  according  to  the  established  procedure  for  the  calculation  of  the  official  daily  ecu
rates,  it  is  ensured  that  the  fixing  of  the  conversion  rates  will  not,  by  itself,  modify  the
external  value  of  the  ecu.

6.(cid:217)This  opinion  shall  be  published  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities.

Done  by  means  of  teleconferencing  on  31  December  1998.

The  President  of  the  ECB

Willem  F.  DUISENBERG