Proposal for a Council Decision on the statistical data to be used for the adjustment of the key for subscription to the capital of the European Central Bank
Date: 2003-03-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Central Bank, European System of Central Banks, European accounting system, central bank, statistical method

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 14.3.2003
COM(2003) 114 final

2003/0050 (CNS)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

on the statistical data to be used for the adjustment of the key for subscription to
the capital of the European Central Bank

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

On 9 June 19981, the Governing Council of the ECB determined2 the national central
banks' percentage shares in the subscription key to its capital. As stipulated in Article
29.3  of  the  ESCB/ECB  Statute,  this  subscription  key  has  to  be  adjusted  every  five
years  after  the  establishment  of  the  ESCB/ECB,  to  take  into  account  updated
statistical data on population and GDP at market prices. As a consequence, and given
that  the  determination  of  the  key  took  place  in  June  1998,  it  will  soon  be  time  to
proceed with the adjustment of the key.

The statistical data to be used for the determination of the key were defined in rules
adopted by the Council on 5 June 1998, in compliance with Article 29.2 of the Statute
of the ESCB and ECB and under the procedure provided for in Article 107.63 of the
Treaty. The Council limited its decision in 1998 on such rules to the determination of
the initial key only and did not consider the subsequent adjustments of it. Moreover,
the  previous  Council  Decision  was  based  on  ESA  79  and  could  not  yet  take  into
account  the  most  recent  developments  in  statistical  methodology,  the  ESA  95
Regulation.

A new Council Decision should  therefore  be  adopted in the coming months, so  that
the  adjustment  of  the  key  can  be  made  in  2003,  as  required.  With  this  aim,  the
Commission  submits  the  present  proposal  defining  the  statistical  methodology  and
data to be used for the next and subsequent adjustments of the key.

The  first  adjusted  key  will  be  applied  from  1  January  20044.  Since  the  expected
enlargement of the European Union will not yet have  come into effect, the new  key
shall apply to the current 15 national central banks. Immediately after the accession of
new Member  States,  the  capital  key  will  be  recalculated.  The  new  Council  decision
will also have to be applied on this occasion.

1.  GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

The key for the ECB capital subscription determines the share of each national central
bank  in  the  capital  of  the  ECB,  as  well  as  their  share  in  the  pooling  of  external
reserves,  the  voting  weights  in  the  ECB  Governing  Council  for  all  decisions  to  be
taken  by  weighted  votes  (cfr.  Art.  10.3  ECB)  and  the  distribution  of  the  monetary
income of the ESCB among national central banks.

According  to  Article  29.1  of  the  Statute  of  the  ESCB  and  the  ECB,  each  national
central  bank  has  initially  been  assigned  a  weighting  in  the  key  equal  to  the  sum  of
50% of the share of the respective Member State in the population of the Community

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2 
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Following revised data provided by the Commission in November 1998, the ECB Decision of
9 June 1998 was replaced by ECB Decision of 1 December 1998 on the national central banks'
percentage  shares  in  the  key  for  the  capital  of  the  European  Central  Bank  (OJ  L  125,
19.5.1999, p. 33.).
In compliance with Article 29.1 of the ESCB/ECB Statute.
and Article 42 of the Statutes of the ESCB and ECB.
As  stipulated  in  Article  29.3  of  the  ESCB/ECB  Statute  :  "the  adjusted  key  will  apply  with
effect from the first day of the following year".

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in  the  penultimate  year  preceding  the  establishment  of  the  ESCB,  and  50%  of  the
share of the respective Member State in the gross domestic product at market prices of
the  Community  as  recorded  in  the  last  five  years  preceding  the  penultimate  year
before the establishment of the ESCB.

The  statistical  data  used  for  the  application  of  this  article  were  provided  by  the
Commission in accordance with the rules adopted by the Council under the procedure
provided for in Article 107.6 of the Treaty. Given that the weightings assigned to the
national  central  banks  must  be  adjusted  every  five  years  by  analogy  with  the
provisions  laid  down  for  the  determination  of  the  key,  the  Commission  will  soon
provide a new  set of  data  for  the  next  adjustment  of  this  key,  based  on  the  Council
Decision to be adopted.

2.  THE CONTENT OF THE NEW DECISION

The subject of this Council Decision are the rules which the Commission shall follow
when  it will provide  the statistical data  for  the  next  and  subsequent  revisions  of  the
key, either in the context of the 5-year revision or upon accession of new NCBs to the
ESCB. As in the past, the rules will include the definition and sources of the data on
GDP and population to be used, and the determination of the method of calculation.
Those  provisions  are  largely  based  upon  those  applying  to  the  ECB  as  set  out  in
Council Decision 98/382/EC of 5 June 19985.

However,  the  rules  which  the  Commission  has  to  follow  when  it  provides  the
statistical data for any future revision of the key for subscription of the ECB's capital
have  been  drafted  so  as  to  establish  a  permanent  regime  which  will  not  only  cover
future  regular  adjustments  of  the  key  but  also  any  enlargement  of  the  European
Union:

– 

– 

– 

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the  new  Council  Decision  will  no  longer  be  linked  to  the  calculation  of  a
specific key so as to avoid further amendments in the coming years, except in
case of major revisions in particular in the national accounting standards and
practices. The proposal will therefore be drafted by analogy with the wording
of Article 29.1 ECB6 instead of mentioning precise periods or years;

upon accession of new Member States to the EU, their national central banks
become part of the ESCB and thus subscribers and shareholders of the capital
of  the  ECB,  under  Article  28.2  of  the  Statute  of  the  ESCB  and  the  ECB.
Therefore,  the  key  for  the  subscription  of  the  ECB’s  capital  also  needs
adjusting upon enlargement of the EU. The new Council Decision will also
be applied on this occasion.

In  accordance  with  Article  17  of  the  Act  of  Accession,  new  central  banks'
weightings will be calculated for all countries in an expanded capital key, by
analogy with Article 29.1 and in compliance with Article 29.2. The reference

O.J. N° L171/33 of 17.06.1998.
"Population  of  the  Community  in  the  penultimate  year  preceding  the  revision  of  the  key  -
GDP  at  market  prices  of  the  Community  as  recorded  in  the  last  five  years  preceding  the
penultimate year before the revision of the key".

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periods to  be  used  for  the  statistical  data  shall  be  identical  to  those  applied
for the latest quinquennial adjustment of the weightings under Article 29.3.

The  present  proposal  also  takes  into  account  the  most  recent  developments  in
statistical  methodology,  in  particular  the  European  System  of  Integrated  Economic
Accounts (ESA 95) as adopted by the Council in its Regulation  2223/96 of 25 June
1996 and its subsequent amendments.

As  the  ESA  95  Regulation  is  part  of  the  "acquis  communautaire",  the  accession
countries are expected to have the ESA 95 methodology in place from the date of the
enlargement, at the latest. This includes the provision of data according to ESA 95 for
longer  time  series.  At  the  time  of  the  enlargement,  the  entering  countries  should
therefore  be  able  to  provide  GDP  at  market  prices  and  population  data  under  the
ESA 95 methodology.

3.  COMMENTS ON THE ARTICLES

Article 1

Article 1 defines what is covered by the Decision. In a narrow interpretation, the rules
for  the  supply  of  the  statistical  data  would  just  specify  the  concept  and  sources  of
population and GDP to be used. However, methodological questions inevitably arise
between  the  supply  of  the  data  for  the  individual  countries  and  the  calculation  of
percentages. These methodological questions are also covered by this Decision for the
sake of consistency and accuracy.

This article defines the data on population.

Article 2

The appropriate definition of population is that of the European System of Accounts
adopted by the Council in its Regulation 2223/96 of 25 June 1996 (ESA 95) and its
subsequent amendments.

The  Commission  (Eurostat)  will  collect  the  data  on  population  according  to  the
established procedures.

Since  the  data  on  GDP  represent  a  flow  over  a  period  of  one  year,  the  population
figures  to  which  they  are  related  should  represent  the  mean  of  the  total  population
over the course of the year.

For the determination of the key, the data on population were those for the year 1996.
Therefore, every five years later, it is consistent to take those of 2001, 2006, 2011 etc.
However, in order for the Decision to apply for a longer time period, it is preferable to
refer to the wording of Article 29.1 of the Protocol on the Statutes of the ESCB and
the ECB.

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This article defines the data on GDP.

Article 3

The  data  on  GDP  will  be  those  resulting  from  the  application  of  the  Council
Regulation  2223/96/EC  of  25  June  1996,  Annex  A  item  8.89,  on  GDP  at  market
prices.

The data on GDP for the determination of the key were those for the last five  years
preceding the penultimate year before the establishment of the ECB (1991-1995). For
the following five  year adjustment periods it is therefore consistent to take the years
1996 to 2000, the years 2001 to 2005 etc. However, in order for the Decision to apply
for a longer time period, it is preferable to refer to the wording of Article 29.1 of the
Protocol on the Statutes of the ESCB and the ECB.

Article 4

This article provides rules for the exchange rates to be applied.

For the period before 1999, the daily exchange rates shall be the ECU reference rates
as compiled by the Commission. From 1999 onwards, the euro reference rates will be
those compiled by the ECB.

Article 5

This  article  provides  rules  for  the  calculation  of  the  shares  of  individual  Member
States in the population and the GDP of the Community. It also provides the rule for
the calculation of the weighting of a Member State in the capital key and the rule on
rounding.

Article 6

The Commission  will  validate  the  data  on  population  after  consulting  the  Statistical
Programme  Committee  set  up  by  Article  1  of  Council  Decision  89/382/EEC,
Euratom, of 19 June 1989 (OJ L 181, 28.06.1989, p. 47).

The Commission will validate the GDP data after consulting the Committee set up by
Article  6  of  Directive  89/130/EEC,  Euratom,  (GNP  Directive)  of  13  February  1989
(O.J. L049 21/02/1989 pp. 26-28).

Consulting those Committees will ensure that all data used for the calculation of the
subscription keys are properly validated.

Article 7

This  article  makes  the  decision  applicable  to  new  Member  States  by  defining  the
reference periods for statistical data to be used in case of enlargement.

Upon one or more Member States acceding the European Union, the capital key will
have to be adjusted again. The reference periods of the statistical data on population
and gross domestic product at market prices that will then be used shall be identical to
those applied for the latest quinquennial adjustment of the key under Article 29.3.

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Article 8

This article obliges the Commission to communicate the data to the ECB sufficiently
in  advance  so  as  to  allow  the  ECB  Governing  Council  to  adopt  a  decision  on  the
capital key in due time.

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2003/0050 (CNS)

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

on the statistical data to be used for the adjustment of the key for subscription to
the capital of the European Central Bank

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular
Article 107(6) thereof and Article 29.2 of the Protocol on the Statute of the European
System of Central Banks (ESCB) and of the European Central Bank (ECB) annexed
thereto (hereinafter referred to as “the Statute”),

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission7,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament8,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank9,

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

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In  Decision  98/382/EC  of  5  June  199810,  the  Council  adopted  rules  on  the
statistical data to be used for the determination of the initial subscription key
to the ECB's capital.

Under Article 29.3 of the Statute, the weighting of the national central banks
in  the  key  for  subscription  of  the  ECB's  capital  is  to  be  adjusted  every  five
years.

Upon one or more countries becoming Member States of the European Union,
their national central banks will become members of the European System of
Central Banks (ESCB) and subscribers to the ECB’s capital. The weighting of
the  national  central  banks  in  the  key  for  subscription  of  the  ECB’s  capital
needs to be adjusted accordingly.

It is necessary to lay down rules for the provision of the statistical data to be
used for the adjustments of the weighting of the national central banks in the
key for subscription of the ECB's capital.

The  nature  of,  and  sources  for,  the  data  to  be  used  and  the  method  of
calculation  of  the  weighting  of  the  national  central  banks  in  the  key  for
subscription of the ECB's capital should be defined.

OJ C XXX, yy/yy/yy, p. zz.
Opinion delivered on xxxxxxx (Official Journal)
Opinion delivered on xxxxxx (Official Journal).
OJ L 171, 17.06.98, p. 33

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(6) 

(7) 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2223/96/EC  of  25  June  1996  on  the  European
System  of  National  and  Regional  Accounts  in  the  Community11  (ESA  95)
provides for a methodology on common standards, definitions, classifications
and accounting rules intended to be used for compiling accounts and tables on
comparable  bases  for  the  purpose  of  the  Community  and  provides  for  a
programme for transmitting for Community purposes the  accounts and tables
compiled according to that Regulation on precise dates. This Regulation takes
account  of  the  most  recent  standards  and  developments  in  statistical
methodology  and  the  definitions  therein  should  therefore  be  used  for  the
purposes of the present Decision.

Since  the  key  for  the  ECB  capital  subscription  determines  the  respective
shares  of  the  national  central  banks  in  the  capital  of  the  ECB  and  in  the
pooling  of  external  reserves,  as  well  as  their  voting  weights  in  the  ECB
Governing  Council  for  all  decisions  to  be  taken  by  weighted  votes  (in
accordance with Article 10.3 of the Statute) and the distribution among them
of  the  monetary  income  of  the  ESCB,  it  is  important  that  the  calculation  of
their  weighting  in  this  key  is  carried  out  in  an  accurate  manner.  The
Commission  shall  therefore  consult  the  relevant  committees  on  the  data  on
population and on gross domestic product at current market prices.

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Subject-matter

The  statistical  data  to  be  used  for  the  adjustment  of  the  weighting  of  the  national
central banks in the key for subscription of the capital of the European Central Bank
(ECB) shall be provided by the Commission in accordance with the rules laid down in
this Decision.

Article 2

Population

Population  shall  mean  the  total  population  as  defined  in  Regulation  (EC)
No 2223/9612 (ESA 95) compiled as an average  of the  year and  rounded  to
the nearest thousand people.

For  the adjustment  of the  weightings  assigned  to  the  national  central  banks
under Article 29.3 of the Statute, the data on population shall be taken for the
penultimate year preceding the year in which the key is adjusted.

OJ L 310, 30.11.1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 359/2002 of
the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 58, 28.2.2002, p. 1).
and its subsequent amendments.

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1.

2.

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Article 3

Gross domestic product at current market prices

Gross  domestic  product  at  market  prices  shall  mean  the  gross  domestic
product at current market prices as defined in Regulation (EC) No 2223/9613
(ESA 95) for a calendar year and expressed in the national currency with the
highest  precision  available  to  permit  the  compilation  of  the  shares  with  the
required accuracy.

For the adjustment  of the  weightings  assigned  to  the  national  central  banks
under  Article  29.3  of  the  Statute,  the  data  on  gross  domestic  product  at
current  market  prices  shall  be  taken  for  the  five  years  preceding  the
penultimate year before the year in which the key is adjusted.

Article 4

Exchange rates

The  annual  exchange  rate  for  conversion  of  the  gross  domestic  product  at
current market prices shall be the arithmetic mean of the daily exchange rates
for all working days in a calendar year.

The  daily  exchange  rates  shall  be  the  ECU  reference  rates  before  1999  as
compiled  by  the  Commission.  They  will  be  the  euro  reference  rates  from
1999 onwards as compiled by the ECB.

Article 5

Calculation and accuracy

The share of a Member State in the population of the Community shall be its
share  in  the  sum  of  the  population  of  the  Member  States,  expressed  as  a
percentage.

The  share  of  a  Member  State  in  GDP  at  current  market  prices  of  the
Community shall be its share in the sum of GDP at current market prices of
the Member States over five years, expressed as a percentage.

The weighting of a national central bank in the key for the subscription of the
ECB's capital shall be the arithmetic mean of the shares of the Member State
concerned  in  the  population  and  in  GDP  at  current  market  prices  of  the
Community.

The  various  steps  of  calculation  shall  use  sufficient  digits  to  ensure  their
accuracy.  The  weighting  of  the  national  central  banks  in  the  key  for  the
subscription of the ECB's capital shall be expressed to four decimal places.

1.

2.

1.

2.

1.

2.

3.

4.

13 

and its subsequent amendments.

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Article 6

Consultation of Committees

As  regards  data  on  population,  the  Commission  shall  consult  the  Statistical
Programme  Committee  set  up  by  Article  1  of  Council  Decision  89/382/EEC,
Euratom14.

As regards  data on  GDP  at  current  market  prices,  the  Commission  shall  consult  the
Committee set up by Article 6 of Council Directive 89/130/EEC, Euratom15.

Article 7

New Member States

Upon  one  or  more  countries  becoming  Member  States  and  their  respective  national
central  banks  becoming  part  of  the  ESCB,  the  reference  periods  to  be  used  for  the
statistical data on population and gross domestic product at current market prices shall
be  identical  to  those  applied  for  the  latest  quinquennial  adjustment  as  defined  in
Articles 29.1 and 29.3 of the Statute.

Article 8

Provision of the data

The  data  on  population,  gross  domestic  product  at  current  market  prices  and  the
annual  exchange  rates  referred  to  in  this  Decision  shall  be  provided  by  the
Commission to the ECB for all Member States separately not later than two months
before the date on which the adjustment of weighting of the national central banks in
the key for subscription of the capital of the ECB takes effect.

Done at Brussels,

For the Council
The President

14

15

OJ L 181, 28.6.1989, p. 47.
OJ L 49, 21.2.1989, pp. 26.

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