WRITTEN QUESTION P-1520/02 by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Council. Inclusion of Cyprus on euro notes.
Date: 2002-05-27
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Cyprus, European Central Bank, atlas, designs and models, euro, paper money

17.4.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 92 E/63

solution is justified firstly by the need to ensure that all the employees of a given company are subject to
the same law, and secondly by the fact that it is the law applicable in the worker’s place of work (cid:1) and
particularly its binding provisions on the protection of workers (cid:1) which is mostly closely linked with the
case. For your information, the Commission is currently drawing up a Green Paper on the conversion of
the Rome Convention into a Community instrument and its modernisation. It is thus possible that the
Convention’s provisions on contracts of employment may be subjected to critical appraisal.

Moreover, Article 73 of the Regulation stipulates that the Commission must present a report on its
application to Parliament at the latest five years after its entry into force. Even if the situation described by
the Honourable Member, which was already in existence when Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 was adopted
by the Council, was not mentioned and did not lead to the tabling of amendments during the negotiations,
the Commission could examine it when drawing up its report if it were to transpire, in the light of the
application in the Member States of the Regulation referred to by the Honourable Member, that its articles
raise difficulties, particularly as regards an increase in the cost of proceedings.

The Commission does not, therefore, intend at this stage to propose a revision of Regulation (EC) No 44/
2001, which has only just entered into force.

(1) OJ L 12, 16.1.2001.

(2003/C 92 E/063)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1520/02

by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Council

(27 May 2002)

Subject: Inclusion of Cyprus on euro notes

The authoritative newspaper ‘European Voice’ (edition of 2-8 May 2002) devoted a special report to a very
laudable initiative taken by a British colleague, Mr Chris Davies MEP, who pointed out to Commissioner
Pedro Solbes Mira the need to include Cyprus in the map of Europe depicted on the notes of the new
single European currency.

According to the report, Mr Davies pointed out that Cyprus is not depicted on the banknotes, despite
being expected to become a Member State of the Union in 2004, and requested that the map of Europe
should be altered to include the Republic of Cyprus. Interestingly enough, none of the applicant countries
appear on the euro coins, whereas the countries which have not yet adopted the euro,
i.e. the UK,
Denmark and Sweden, do.

Can the Council say whether and when the representation of Europe on euro coins and notes will be
altered to give as accurate a picture as possible of our continent?

Reply

(16-19 December 2002)

According to the Treaty, the ECB is competent on matters related to the design of euro banknotes.

Concerning euro coins, it has been agreed that these coins will have a common and a national face. The
common face has been selected, on the basis of a European competition, by Heads of State or Government
of participating Member States at the Amsterdam European Council in June 1997.

It is therefore respectively for the ECB and the Heads of State or Government of participating Member
States to consider the future design of euro notes and a common face for coins after enlargement.