Opinion of the European Central Bank of 1 September 2003 at the request of the Council of the European Union on a recommendation for a Council Decision on the approval of certain amendments to be made to Articles 3 and 7 of the Monetary Agreement between the Italian Republic, on behalf of the European Community, and the Vatican City State and, on its behalf, the Holy See and authorising the Italian Republic to give effect to these amendments (COM(2003) 387 final) (CON/2003/18)
Date: 2003-09-01
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Economic and Monetary Union, Holy See, Italy, euro, issuing of currency, monetary relations

C 212/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

6.9.2003

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

of 1 September 2003

at the request of the Council of the European Union on a recommendation for a Council Decision
on the approval of certain amendments to be made to Articles 3 and 7 of the Monetary
Agreement between the Italian Republic, on behalf of the European Community, and the
Vatican City State and, on its behalf, the Holy See and authorising the Italian Republic to give
effect to these amendments (COM(2003) 387 final)

(CON/2003/18)

(2003/C 212/06)

from the Council of

the European Central Bank (ECB)
1. On 17 July 2003,
received a request
the European
Union for an opinion on a recommendation for a
Council Decision on the approval of certain amendments
to be made to Articles 3 and 7 of the Monetary Agreement
between the Italian Republic, on behalf of the European
Community, and the Vatican City State and, on its behalf,
the Holy See and authorising the Italian Republic to
give effect to these amendments (COM(2003) 387 final)
(hereinafter the ‘recommendation’).

2. The ECB's competence to deliver an opinion is based on
Article 111(3) of
the Treaty establishing the European
Community and the third paragraph of Article 12 of the
Monetary Agreement between the Italian Republic, on
behalf of the European Community, and the Vatican City
State and, on its behalf, the Holy See (1) (hereinafter the
‘Monetary Agreement’).
first
sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the
ECB, the Governing Council of the ECB has adopted this
opinion.

In accordance with the

3. Pursuant to the recommendation, the amendments to be
made to Articles 3 and 7 of the Monetary Agreement
provide for an increase in the total issue ceiling for euro
coins which the Vatican City State may issue from
EUR 670 000 to EUR 1 000 000 per year as of 1
January 2004. The additional amounts of euro coins,
which the Vatican City State may issue under
three
special circumstances — in the year when the Holy See
becomes vacant, in each Holy Jubilee Year and in the year
of the opening of an Ecumenical Council — are also to be
increased from EUR 201 000 to EUR 300 000 as of 1
January 2004. The justification given for
these new
ceilings, which were proposed by the Italian Republic, is
that the maximum number of coins which can be minted
by the Vatican City State under the Monetary Agreement is
lower than the maximum number of coins which was
explicitly authorised by the earlier Monetary Convention
(hereinafter
‘Monetary Convention’), between the
Italian Republic and the Vatican City State (2), both
under normal and special circumstances.

the

(1) OJ C 299, 25.10.2001, p. 1.
(2) Monetary Convention between Italy and the Vatican City ratified by
Italy under Law 119/1994. Published in the Official Journal of the
Italian Republic No 43 of 22 February 1994.

the consultation of

4. The ECB notes that the second paragraph of the Sole
Article of
the Italian
the recommendation authorises
Republic, by way of derogation from the procedures set
out in Articles 7 and 8 of Council Decision 1999/98/EC of
31 December 1998 on the position to be taken by the
concerning the
Community regarding an agreement
monetary relations with Vatican City (3),
to make the
necessary amendments to the Monetary Agreement on
the Community. The ECB would draw
behalf of
attention to the fact that the third paragraph of Article
12 of the Monetary Agreement provides for a specific
procedure for amendments to the Monetary Agreement
according to which ‘current procedures and current
Community law shall apply’. The ECB considers that the
‘current procedures’ referred to in the third paragraph of
Article 12 of the Monetary Agreement are those laid down
in Decision 1999/98/EC. These procedures provide not
only for
inter alia,
require its full association with the negotiations between
the Vatican City State and the Italian Republic in the ECB's
field of competence. In this regard, the ECB would also
draw attention to the fact that the Monetary Agreement
between the Government of
the French Republic, on
behalf of the European Community, and the Government
of His Serene Highness the Prince of Monaco (4)
(here-
inafter the ‘Monaco Agreement’) specifically provides (in
Article 15(2)) that where amendments are made to the
‘laid down by
Monaco Agreement,
Council Decision 1999/96/EC (5) of 31 December 1998
shall be applied’. Article 7 of Decision 1999/96/EC
the ECB with the
provides for the full association of
competence. The ECB
negotiations
to Decision
reference
considers
1999/96/EC in the Monaco Agreement, which was
concluded after the Monetary Agreement, is further confir-
mation that the ‘current procedures’ referred to in the third
paragraph of Article 12 of the Monetary Agreement are
those laid down in Decision 1999/98/EC.

field of
explicit

the procedures

in its
the

the ECB but,

that

(3) OJ L 30, 4.2.1999, p. 35.
(4) OJ L 142, 31.5.2002, p. 59.
(5) Council Decision 1999/96/EC of 31 December 1998 on the
position to be taken by the Community regarding an agreement
concerning the monetary relations with the Principality of Monaco
(OJ L 30, 4.2.1999, p. 31).

6.9.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

C 212/11

5. The ECB understands that, in issuing its recommendation
for a Council Decision on the approval of certain
the
amendments to be made to Articles 3 and 7 of
Monetary Agreement,
that
the Commission considers
these amendments cannot be based on the existing
Decision 1999/98/EC and on the third paragraph of
the Monetary Agreement. This would
Article 12 of
imply that all
to the Monetary
future amendments
Agreement would also need to be based on a new
Council Decision. This calls into question the interpre-
tation and relevance of the third paragraph of Article 12
of the Monetary Agreement. While in view of the purely
technical nature of
the
approach adopted by the Commission may be acceptable
in the current case, the ECB suggests, in order to clarify
this matter and to allow for an appropriate procedure for
any future amendments to the Monetary Agreement, that
recital 7 of the recommendation should be replaced by the
following text:

the proposed modifications

taken by

the Community

‘The procedure according to which the Monetary
Agreement was negotiated and concluded is that laid
down in Articles 7 and 8 of Council Decision
1999/98/EC of 31 December 1998 on the position
an
to be
agreement concerning the monetary relations with
Vatican City (1). According to the third paragraph of
Article 12 of the Monetary Agreement, if amendments
to the provisions of the Agreement prove desirable
current procedures and current Community law shall
apply. The term “Current procedures” is to be inter-
preted as referring to Decision 1999/98/EC.’

regarding

In addition, the Sole Article should become Article 1 and a
new Article 2 should be added to the recommendation
that reads as follows:

the Italian Republic, on behalf of

‘In the event that further amendments to the provisions
of the Monetary Agreement are deemed appropriate in
the future,
the
Community, shall conduct the negotiations and agree
the necessary amendments with the Vatican City State
in accordance with the procedures
laid down in
Articles 7 and 8 of Council Decision 1999/98/EC of
31 December 1998 on the position to be taken by the
Community regarding an agreement concerning the
monetary relations with Vatican City (1).’

In view of these changes it would then also be appropriate
to delete the words ‘Articles 3 and 7 of’ from the title of
the recommendation.

6. The ECB considers that the reference to the Monetary
Convention and, in particular, to the maximum number
of coins which was explicitly authorised under it, which is
made in the recommendation to justify the proposed
increase in the total issue ceiling for euro coins that the
Vatican City State may issue as of 1 January 2004, could

be further expanded to ensure that it is absolutely clear. In
this regard, the ECB notes that the maximum face value of
the euro coins issued under the Monetary Agreement is
already above the levels permitted under the Monetary
the proposed increase in the
Convention. Furthermore,
maximum face value would not necessarily lead to an
increase in the number of coins which can be minted,
which is
the
Monetary Convention.

authorised under

to the

levels

close

the Sole Article of

7. The ECB takes note of the proposed amendment to Article
3 of the Monetary Agreement and understands that the
wording of paragraph 1(a) of
the
recommendation refers only to the first paragraph of
Article 3 and is as such without prejudice to its subsequent
paragraphs, which concern the requirement for euro coins
issued by the Vatican City State to be identical to those
issued by the Member States of the European Community
that have adopted the euro as far as the face value, legal
tender status, technical characteristics, artistic features of
the common side and the shared artistic features of the
national side are concerned, and for the advance notifi-
cation by the Vatican City State to the competent
the
Community authorities of
national side of the euro coins within its competence.
The ECB understands that the current paragraphs 2 and
3 of Article 3 of the Monetary Agreement will remain part
of Article 3 after its amendment. In this regard it would be
desirable for the first sentence of paragraph 1(a) to be
redrafted as follows:
‘The first paragraph of Article 3
shall be replaced by the following: [. . .]’.

the artistic features of

8. The ECB considers

that

reduce

State will

revision of

the current

the
numbers of euro coins which may be issued by the
Vatican City
the
competent financial bodies of the Italian Republic and of
the Vatican City State to revise such numbers in 2004, as
provided in the second paragraph of Article 12 of the
Monetary Agreement. This is without prejudice to the
subsequent biennial revisions provided for by the second
paragraph of Article 12 of the Monetary Agreement.

the need for

9. Finally, the ECB considers that in recitals 3 and 4 (2) of the
ISO code should be used
ITL should
in recital 4

recommendation the correct
when referring to the Italian lira, therefore,
replace LIT. Furthermore,
should be deleted (3).

the first

‘and’

10. This opinion shall be published in the Official Journal of the

European Union.

Done at Frankfurt am Main on 1 September 2003.

The President of the ECB

Willem F. DUISENBERG

(1) OJ L 30, 4.2.1999, p. 35.

versions.

(2) This remark only concerns the Greek, English and Dutch versions

and the Danish version with regard to recital 4 only.

(3) This remark does not concern the German, Spanish and Dutch