Opinion of the European Central Bank of 8 December 2008 at the request of Národná banka Slovenska on a draft decree regarding cash currency circulation (CON/2008/86)
Date: 2008-12-08
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Slovakia, counterfeiting, euro, issuing of currency, money

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 8 December 2008 

at the request of Národná banka Slovenska 

on a draft decree regarding cash currency circulation 

(CON/2008/86) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  10  November  2008  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  Národná  banka 

Slovenska (NBS) for an opinion on a draft decree on certain details regarding cash currency circulation 

and on amendments to certain decrees (hereinafter the ‘draft decree’). 

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

European Community and the first and second 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  decree  relates  to  currency  matters  and  means  of  payment.  In 

accordance  with  the  first  sentence  of  Article  17.5  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  European  Central 

Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 

1.  

Purpose of the draft decree  

The draft decree is a technical implementing measure to be adopted pursuant to Articles 17b(5), 17e(5) 

and 17f(10) of the Law of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No 566/1992 Coll. on Národná 

banka  Slovenska.  It  aims  to  regulate  the  processing  of  euro  banknotes  and  coins,  the  withdrawal  of 

counterfeit, mutilated or damaged euro banknotes, and in particular to implement the Framework for the 
detection  of  counterfeits  and  fitness  sorting  by  credit  institutions  and  other  professional  cash  handlers2 

(hereinafter the ‘Framework’), thereby also contributing to a smooth euro changeover in Slovakia from 

1 January 2009. In detail, the draft decree: (i) defines the most frequently used terms in connection with 

euro banknotes and coins; (ii) regulates the handling, sorting and packaging of euro banknotes and coins 

by banks or professional cash handlers; and (iii) provides for the procedures for withdrawal of altered or 

counterfeit euro banknotes and coins and euro banknotes or coins that are suspected of being counterfeit, 

altered, damaged, mutilated or illegally produced.  

1  
2  

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
See  the  ECB  document  entitled  ‘Recycling  of  euro  banknotes:  framework  for  the  detection  of  counterfeits  and  fitness 
sorting  by  credit  institutions  and  other  professional  cash  handlers’  as  agreed  by  the  ECB’s  Governing  Council  on 
16 December 2004, which is available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
2. 

General observations  

2.1   The  ECB  welcomes  the  fact  that  NBS  is  implementing  the  Framework  by  means  of  the  draft 

decree, as this will contribute to a high level of harmonisation within the Eurosystem in the field of 

euro  banknotes  and  coins  and  assist  Slovakia’s  legal  convergence  in  that  field.  Under  the 

transitional  regime  for  the  implementation  of  the  Framework  in  the  new  participating  Member 

States  (hereinafter  the  ‘Transitional  regime’)  approved  by  the  ECB’s  Governing  Council  in 

December 2004, NBS as a national central bank (NCB) of a new participating Member State from 

1 January 2009, should adopt the Framework ‘… as soon as possible, at the latest within 12 months 

of the date on which euro banknotes and coins acquire the status of legal tender in the relevant new 

participating  Member  State.’  Since  the  intended  date  of  entry  into  force  of  the  draft  decree  is 

1 January 2009, Slovakia will comply with the requirements of the Transitional regime. 

2.2  Under Article 106 of the Treaty, the ECB has the exclusive right to authorise the issue of banknotes 

within the Community. Coins are issued by the Member States subject to approval by the ECB of 

the  volume  of  the  issue.  Consequently,  as  a  general  principle,  the  Eurosystem’s  regulatory 

competence only concerns banknotes. Moreover, as far as the accession of NCBs to the Eurosystem 

is concerned, the ECB supports a clear and consistent separation between national rules relating to 
banknotes and rules relating to coins3. The ECB is therefore of the view that the draft decree would 

benefit  from  introducing  a  consistent  internal  separation  between  the  rules  concerning  euro 
banknotes and the rules concerning euro coins4. 

2.3  Since  the  draft  decree  also  regulates  issues  that  fall  outside  the  scope  of  Community  law,  in 

particular  the  legislative  framework  of  the  European  System  of  Central  Banks  and  the  ECB,  this 

opinion  focuses  on  those  provisions  of  the  draft  decree:  (i)  that  do  fall  within  the  scope  of 

Community law; (ii) that fall under the ECB’s competence; and (iii) that are of a legal rather than a 

purely technical nature. Moreover, the ECB would like to underline that pursuant to Article 10 of 

the Treaty it is the Slovak authorities’ responsibility to take all appropriate measures to ensure the 

fulfilment  of  their  obligations  arising  out  of  the  Treaty  or  resulting  from  action  taken  by  the 

institutions of the Community, including those taken within the framework of the Eurosystem. 

3  

4  

See  paragraph  2.3  of  ECB  Opinion  CON/2007/28  of  25  September  2007  at  the  request  of  the  President  of  Narodowy 
Bank Polski on a draft ordinance on the method and procedure for counting, sorting, packaging and labelling packaging 
units  of  banknotes  and  coins,  and  in  conducting  activities  related  to  the  supply  of  banknotes  and  coins  to  banks; 
paragraph 2.2 of ECB Opinion CON/2008/36 of 5 August 2008 at the request of Latvijas Banka on a draft regulation on 
lats banknotes and coins; and paragraph 2 of ECB Opinion CON/2008/47 of 9 October 2008 at the request of Sveriges 
Riksbank on a draft Regulation on the redemption of banknotes and coins. 
Currently the draft decree does not separate the rules on euro banknotes and coins at all. 

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3. 

Specific observations 

3.1 

In addition to implementing the Framework, Slovakia will also have to comply with Community 
and ECB legal acts in the field of euro banknotes5. Although it has no further specific comments of 

a legal nature on the draft decree, the ECB reemphasises that the responsibility for ensuring that the 

draft  decree  complies  fully  with  the  Eurosystem  legal  framework  in  this  regard  remains  with  the 

consulting authority. 

3.2  Pursuant to Council Decision 2008/608/EC of 8 July 2008 in accordance with Article 122(2) of the 
Treaty on the adoption by Slovakia of the single currency on 1 January 20096, Slovakia fulfils the 

necessary  conditions  for  adoption  of  the  euro  and  its  derogation  under  Article  4  of  the  Act  of 
Accession7 will be abrogated with effect from 1 January 2009. Since the date of entry into force of 

the draft decree either coincides with the date of the euro introduction in Slovakia or is postponed 

until  1  January  2010  pursuant  to  Section  V  thereof,  it  would  be  advisable  for  reasons  of  legal 
clarity to delete any references in the draft decree8 to those Community law provisions which will 
become obsolete once the euro is introduced in Slovakia9. 

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 8 December 2008. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Jean-Claude TRICHET 

5  

6  

7  

8 
9 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 of 28 June 2001 laying down measures necessary for the protection of the euro 
against  counterfeiting  (OJ  L  181,  4.7.2001,  p.  6);  Decision  ECB/2003/4  of  20  March  2003  on  the  denominations, 
specifications,  reproduction,  exchange  and  withdrawal  of  euro  banknotes  (OJ  L  78,  25.3.2003,  p.  16);  Guideline 
ECB/2003/5  of  20  March  2003  on  the  enforcement  of  measures  to  counter  non-compliant  reproductions  of  euro 
banknotes and on the exchange and withdrawal of euro banknotes (OJ L 78, 25.3.2003, p. 20); Council Regulation (EC) 
No  2182/2004  of  6  December  2004  concerning  medals  and  tokens  similar  to  euro  coins  (OJ  L  373,  21.12.2004,  p. 1); 
Commission Recommendation of 27 May 2005 concerning authentication of euro coins and handling of euro coins unfit 
for  circulation  (notified  under  document  number  C(2005)  1540)  (OJ  L  184,  15.7.2005,  p.  60); and  the  ECB  document 
entitled  ‘Data  Collection  from  Credit  Institutions  and  other  Professional  Cash  Handlers  under  the  Framework  for 
Banknote Recycling’, which is available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
Council Decision of 8 July 2008 in accordance with Article 122(2) of the Treaty on the adoption by Slovakia of the single 
currency on 1 January 2009 (OJ L 195, 24.7.2008, p. 24). 
Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the 
Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, 
the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is 
founded (OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33). 
See footnote 1 to the draft decree. 
From the date of introduction of the euro in Slovakia, Council Regulation (EC) No 1339/2001 of 28 June 2001 extending 
the  effects  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1338/2001  laying  down  measures  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  euro  against 
counterfeiting  to  those  Member  States  which  have  not  adopted  the  euro  as  their  single  currency  (OJ  L  181,  4.7.2001, 
p. 11) will no longer apply. 

3