Opinion of the European Central Bank of 13 March 2002 at the request of the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry on a draft decree amending the Decree governing financial relations with foreign countries (CON/2002/9)
Date: 2002-03-13
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: France, balance of payments, intra-EU payment, investment, national law, statistics

EN

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 13 March 2002

at the request of the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry on a draft

decree amending the Decree governing financial relations with foreign countries

(CON/2002/09)

1. 

On  25  February  2002,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  French

Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industry for an opinion on a draft decree amending the

Decree governing financial relations with foreign countries (hereinafter referred to as the “draft

decree”).

2. 

The  ECB’s  competence  to  deliver  an  opinion  is  based  on  Article 105(4)  of  the  Treaty

establishing  the  European  Community,  the  second  indent  of  Article  4(a)  of  the  Statute  of  the

European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank and the fourth indent of

Article 2(1)  of  Council  Decision  98/415/EC  of  29 June 1998  on  the  consultation  of  the
European Central Bank by national authorities regarding draft legislative provisions1, since the

draft  decree  relates  to  the  collection,  compilation  and  distribution  of  monetary,  financial,

banking,  payment  systems  and  balance  of  payments  statistics.  In  accordance  with  the  first
sentence  of  Article  17.5  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  European  Central  Bank2,  the

Governing Council of the ECB has adopted this opinion.

3. 

The  draft  decree  amends  Decree  No  89/938  of  29  December  1989,  as  amended,  governing

financial relations with foreign countries. Title II of Decree No 89/938 of 29 December 1989, as

amended,  lays  down  provisions  relating  to  statistical  reporting  carried  out  for  the  purpose  of

France's balance of payments and international investment position statistics. While previously

the  companies  involved  in  direct  reporting  were  defined  according  to  an  overall  amount  of

settlements  in  goods  and  services  vis-à-vis  non-resident  counterparts,  according  to  the  draft

decree, companies or groups of companies for which transactions with foreign countries for at

least one category of service or income of the balance of payments exceed during one calendar

year an amount  determined  by  order  have  to  report  directly  to  the  Banque  de  France  all their

operations conducted with foreign countries or in France with non-residents.

1
2

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.
OJ L 125, 19.5.1999, p 34.

                                                     
4. 

The  ECB  welcomes  the  proposed  amendments.  Reference  is  made  to  transactions,  instead  of

settlements,  which  is  in  line  with  the  opinion  of  July  2001  of  the  Committee  for  Monetary,

Financial  and  Balance  of  Payments  Statistics.  A  reporting  threshold  for  balance  of  payments

statistics of EUR 12 500 for banks was introduced from 1 January 2002 in anticipation of the

time  limit  of  1  July  2002  laid  down  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  2560/2001  of  the  European
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  19  December  2001  on  cross-border  payments  in  euro3.

Following  the  introduction  of  this  threshold,  certain  information  concerning  some  balance  of

payments items, mainly services and income, will be lost. Therefore, with a view to maintaining

the  quality  of  statistics,  it  is  important,  as  proposed  in  the  draft  decree,  to  collect  from  other

reporting  agents  statistical  information  on  services  and  income  for  the  purpose  of  balance  of

payments.

5. 

The  ECB  confirms  that  it  has  no  objection  to  the  competent  national  authorities  making  this

opinion publicly available at their discretion.

Done at Frankfurt am Main on 13 March 2002.

The President of the ECB

[signed]

Willem F. DUISENBERG

3 

OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 13.

2