Opinion of the European Central Bank of 6 January 2006 at the request of Magyar Nemzeti Bank on a draft regulation on the reproduction of the Hungarian legal tender and the euro (CON/2006/2)
Date: 2006-01-06
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Hungary, counterfeiting, euro, money, national law

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 6 January 2006  

at the request of Magyar Nemzeti Bank  

on a draft regulation on  the reproduction of the Hungarian legal tender and the euro  

(CON/2006/2) 

1. 

On  21  November  2005,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  Magyar 

Nemzeti  Bank  (MNB)  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft regulation  on  the  reproduction  of  the  Hungarian 

legal tender and the euro (hereinafter the ‘draft regulation’).  

2. 

The  ECB’s  competence  to  deliver  an  opinion  is  based  on  the  first,  second  and  third  indents  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, as the draft regulation 

concerns  currency  matters,  means  of  payment  and  a  national  central  bank’s  tasks.  In  accordance 

with the first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the ECB, the Governing Council 

has adopted this opinion. 

3. 

The draft regulation intends to protect forint and euro banknotes and coins against illegal or non-

compliant  reproductions.  It  should  be  noted  that  this  opinion  will  not  address  the  rules  on  the 

reproduction  of  forint  banknotes  or  coins.  Article  10  of  the  draft  regulation  states  that  euro 

banknote reproductions are governed by the rules of the ECB on the production of euro banknote 

reproductions  and  the  enforcement  of  measures  to  counter  non-compliant  reproductions  of  euro 

banknotes. This Article also provides that euro coin reproductions shall be governed by the rules of 

the Commission on the copyright protection of the common face design of the euro coins in force. 

In addition, Article 14 of the draft regulation lists EU legal acts with which the draft regulation is 

considered to comply with.  

4. 

The ECB takes this opportunity to point out again the importance of the rules on the reproduction 

of  euro  banknotes.  In  order  to  protect  the  euro  banknotes’  integrity  as  a  means  of  payment,  the 

general  public  must  be  able  to  distinguish  genuine  euro  banknotes  from  reproductions.  In  this 

context, the ECB welcomes the draft regulation’s general reference to the fact that the reproduction 

of euro banknotes is subject to the rules of the ECB. The ECB understands that the draft regulation 

intends to ensure that the ECB reproduction rules apply also in Hungary.  

1  

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 

 
 
 
                                                      
5. 

The ECB would like to stress that it holds the copyright on the design of the euro banknotes. The 

ECB, or the NCBs on its behalf, may enforce such copyright, irrespective of the applicability of the 

abovementioned  ECB  reproduction  rules,  with  regard  to  reproductions  issued  or  distributed  in 

breach of this copyright, if the Member State’s legislation provides for copyright protection. Since 

Article  10(2)  refers  to  the  copyright  protection  of  euro  coins,  the  ECB  would  welcome,  to  avoid 

any misconception that euro banknotes might not be copyright protected in Hungary, a reference in 

Article 10(1) to the ECB’s copyright in euro banknotes and that Hungarian copyright laws protect 

this right.  

6. 

Finally,  the  ECB  would  like  to  point  out  that  it  does  not  express  an  opinion  concerning  the 

reproduction of euro coins. However, it notes in general that similar treatment of the provisions on 

coins and banknotes when making references would be merited.  

7. 

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 6 January 2006. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Jean-Claude TRICHET 

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