Communication from the Commission to the Council Report on the functioning of the Monetary Agreements with Monaco, San Marino and Vatican
Date: 2009-07-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Monetary Agreement, Italy, Monaco, San Marino, euro, euro area, financial policy, monetary policy

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 14.7.2009 
COM(2009) 359 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

Report on the functioning of the Monetary Agreements with Monaco, San Marino and 
Vatican 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 

Report on the functioning of the Monetary Agreements with Monaco, San Marino and 
Vatican 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Monetary Agreements were concluded between the European Community and Monaco, 
San Marino and Vatican in order to give legal continuity to the arrangements which existed 
between  these  countries  on  the  one  hand  and  France  and  Italy  on  the  other  before  the 
introduction  of  the  euro.  The  renegotiation  of  the  existing  Agreements  in  view  of  the 
introduction of the euro was envisaged by a declaration annexed to the Treaty of Maastricht1.  

Ten years after the euro replaced the legacy currencies of Italy and France used by Monaco, 
San Marino and Vatican, the Council invited the Commission to review the functioning of the 
Monetary  Agreements2.  This  Communication  examines  in  detail  the  content  of  the 
Agreements,  describes  the  strengths  and  weaknesses  in  their  implementation  and  suggests 
amendments to the content of the three Agreements. 

2. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE CONTENT OF THE AGREEMENTS 

2.1. 

Common features of the Agreements  

Since the national currencies of the euro-area Member States were replaced by the euro on 1 
January  1999  and  the  competencies  of  the  participating  Member  States  in  monetary  and 
exchange  rate  matters  were  transferred  to  the  Community,  the  Council  decided  that  the 
existing  arrangements  which  the  euro-area  Member  States  had  with  the  third  countries  on 
monetary matters should be amended3. The new Agreement between the Community and the 
Principality of Monaco was negotiated by France (in association with the Commission and the 
European Central Bank (ECB))4, while the Agreements with the Republic of San Marino and 
the Vatican City were negotiated by Italy (in association with the Commission and the ECB)5. 

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5 

Declaration N° 6 concerning the monetary relations with San Marino, Vatican and Monaco. 
Council  Conclusions  on  'Common  guidelines  for  the  national  sides  and  the  issuance  of  euro  coins 
intended for circulation', 2922nd ECOFIN Council meeting of 10 February 2009. 
French  francs  had  had  the  status  of  legal  tender  in  Monaco  since  1925.  The  Principality  was  using 
French franc banknotes and coins and was entitled to issue its own franc coins up to a certain ceiling 
(they were legal tender only within the territory of Monaco). The monetary links between Italy and San 
Marino were governed by the Friendship and Good-Neighbourhood Convention signed in 1939, and the 
Monetary Convention governing the monetary relations between Italy and the Vatican City State was 
signed in 1929. Both Conventions were renewable every ten years and entitled San Marino and Vatican 
to issue lira coins which had status of legal tender in Italy.  
Monetary Agreement  between  the Government  of  the  French  Republic,  on behalf  of  the  Community, 
and the Government of His Serene Highness the Prince of Monaco (OJ L 142 of 31 May 2002). 
Monetary  Agreement  between  the  Italian  Republic,  on  behalf  of  the  European  Community,  and  the 
Republic of San Marino (OJ C 209 of 27.7.2001). Monetary Agreement between the Italian Republic, 
on behalf of the Community, and the Vatican City State and, on its behalf, the Holy See, (OJ C 299 of 
25.10.2001).  

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The Monetary Agreements entitled Monaco, San Marino and Vatican to use the euro as their 
official currency and grant legal tender status to euro banknotes and coins. 

As  from  1  January  2002,  the  Principality  of  Monaco  is  entitled  to  issue  euro  coins  with  an 
annual  volume  of  1/500th  of  the  quantity  of  coins  minted  in  France.  The  Republic  of  San 
Marino  is  entitled  to  issue  euro  coins  of  a  maximum  annual  face  value  of  €1  994  000.  The 
maximum annual  face  value of euro  coins which can be issued by the Vatican was initially 
fixed at €670 000. Additionally, the Vatican City  was given the right to issue extra coins in 
the  years  when  the  Holy  See  is  vacant,  in  each  Holy  Jubilee  Year  and  in  the  year  of  the 
opening  of  an  Ecumenical  Council,  totalling  on  each  occasion  €201  000.  The  ceilings  were 
amended by a Council decision of 7 October 2003 to €1 000 000 for an 'ordinary' maximum 
yearly  issuance  and  an  additional  €300  000  in  special  circum stances.  The  ceilings  of  San 
Marino  and  Vatican  are  revised  every  two  years  to  reflect  the  changes  in  Italy's  consumer 
price index. 

The  annual  volumes  of  Monaco's  (San  Marino's  and  Vatican's)  euro  coins  are  added  to  the 
volumes  of  coins  issued  by  France  (Italy)  for  the  purpose  of  the  ECB's  approval  of  the 
issuance volume.  

Euro  circulation  coins  of  Monaco,  San  Marino  and  Vatican  shall  be  identical  to  euro 
circulation coins issued by the Member States of the euro area with respect to the face value, 
legal tender status, technical and design characteristics on the common sides and the common 
design  characteristics  on  the  national  sides.  The  competent  Community  authorities  shall  be 
notified  in  advance  of  the  design  characteristics  of  the  national  sides.  Monaco,  San  Marino 
and Vatican are also entitled to issue euro collector coins under the same rules as the Member 
States of the euro area, their value being counted within the limits of the countries' maximum 
yearly issuance. The Republic of San Marino may furthermore issue gold coins denominated 
in scudi6. Monaco, San Marino and Vatican are not entitled to issue euro banknotes and their 
collector coins are not legal tender outside their own territories. 

All  three  countries  undertook  to  take  internal  legal  measures  in  order  to  apply  to  their 
respective territories the Community provisions concerning euro banknotes and coins and to 
cooperate closely with the European Community to combat counterfeiting of euro banknotes 
and coins. 

2.2. 

Specific features of the Agreement with Monaco 

In  addition  to  the  provisions  described  above,  contained  in  all  three  Monetary  Agreements, 
the Agreement with Monaco features some additional requirements. 

The  Agreement  includes  the  explicit  obligation  of  Monaco  to  implement  Community 
legislation aimed at combating counterfeiting of euro banknotes and coins. 

Credit institutions and other financial institutions carrying out activities in the Principality of 
Monaco  may  participate  in  the  interbank  settlement  and  payment  and  securities  settlement 
system  on  the  same  terms  as  the  relevant  institutions  established  in  France  if  they  fulfil  the 
conditions laid down for access to those systems. Monaco's credit institutions are subject to 
the  same  measures  adopted  by  the  Banque  de  France  in  implementation  of  the  ECB 
provisions on monetary policy instruments and procedures. 

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A monetary unit used on the Apennine peninsula until the 19th century. 

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The Principality is responsible for making applicable legal provisions aimed at ensuring the 
protection and stability of the euro and the EC financial system in its territory. According to 
Article 11 of the Monetary Agreement, Community acts in the following domains shall apply 
in the territory of the Principality of Monaco: collection of statistical information by the ECB, 
minimum reserves held by credit institutions, penalties imposed on undertakings for failure to 
comply  with  ECB  regulations  and  decisions,  issuance  of  banknotes,  market  operations, 
instruments of monetary control, clearing and settlement systems. The Principality of Monaco 
shall  also  apply  the  measures  adopted  by  France  to  implement  Community  acts  concerning 
the  prudential  supervision  of  credit  institutions  and  the  prevention  of  systemic  risks  to 
payment  and  securities  settlement  systems.  Furthermore,  Monaco  has  to  take  measures 
equivalent  in  effect  to  the  Community  directives  on  money  laundering  and  to  legal  acts 
governing investment services. 

The  Monetary  Agreement  with  Monaco  provides  for  a  Joint  Committee  whose  task  is  to 
facilitate the implementation and operation of the Agreement. 

3. 

ASSESSMENT  OF  THE  FUNCTIONING  OF  THE  AGREEMENTS  AND  SUGGESTIONS  FOR 
POSSIBLE DEVELOPMENTS OF THE CONTENT OF THE AGREEMENTS 

3.1. 

Transposition of relevant EC legislation  

The scope of the Community legislation to be transposed in the three States having signed a 
Monetary  Agreement  with  the  Community  differs  significantly  from  one  agreement  to 
another.  

All three States undertook to take internal legal measures in order to apply to their respective 
territories  the  Community  provisions  concerning  euro  banknotes  and  coins.  The  provisions 
regarding  the  design  and  technical  specifications  of  euro  coins  are  generally  well  applied. 
Since  the  euro  coins  of  Monaco,  San  Marino  and  Vatican  are  designed  in  cooperation  with 
and produced by the certified euro area Mints (i.e. the national Mints of France and Italy), the 
application  of  the  latest  Community  provisions  is  overall  ensured.  As  far  as  the  euro 
banknotes are concerned, no competent authority or follow-up procedure has been installed to 
verify  that  the  applicable  provisions  (e.g.  rules  on  exchange  and  withdrawal  of  euro 
banknotes) are implemented. 

The signatories to the Monetary Agreements also committed themselves to cooperate closely 
with the Community in the domain of combating counterfeiting of euro banknotes and coins. 
The Agreement with Monaco goes further than the other two Agreements by specifying that 
the Principality should adopt the appropriate steps laid down in the Community legislation7 to 
prevent  counterfeiting.  The  implementation  of  the  Agreement  with  Monaco  in  the  area  of 
counterfeiting  is  regularly  assessed  and  the  list  of  legislative  instruments  to  be  adopted  is 
updated during the Joint Committee meetings (see Section 3.2.). Although some shortcomings 
persist  (e.g.  lack  of  signature  of  an  Agreement  with  Europol)  there  has  been  noticeable 
progress overall in this field. 

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Framework Decision of 29 May 2000 on increasing protection by criminal penalties and other sanctions 
(2000/383/JHA, OJ L 140, 14.6.2000) and Council Regulation laying down measures necessary for the 
protection of the euro against counterfeiting (1338/2001, OJ L 181, 4.7.2001). 

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The  Agreements  with  San  Marino  and  the  Vatican  do  not  entail  any  specific  obligation  to 
transpose EU legislation in the domain of protection of euro cash against counterfeiting and 
the  ways  of  cooperation  with  the  Community.  According  to  Commission  information,  both 
countries have made some effort to bring their laws into line with the Community standards 
but since there is no follow-up mechanism in respect of these two Agreements similar to the 
one in place for Monaco, the Community is not regularly informed on the implementation of 
the Monetary Agreements carried out by San Marino and Vatican. 

The Monetary Agreement with Monaco contains several additional elements, most of which 
already formed part of the earlier agreements with France. Unlike the Monetary Agreements 
with  Vatican  and  San  Marino,  the  Agreement  with  Monaco  stipulates  the  terms  and 
conditions of access of credit institutions and other institutions authorised to  carry out their 
activities on the territory of Monaco to the interbank settlement and payment and securities 
settlement system in the European Union. The Agreements with the Vatican and San Marino 
specify that financial institutions located in these two States may have access to the payment 
system within the euro area under terms and conditions to be determined by the Banca d'Italia 
with the agreement of the European Central Bank. The Vatican and San Marino have so far 
not expressed interest in participating directly in the euro area payment systems, despite the 
existence of a significant financial sector in the latter (the banks operating in San Marino are, 
for  the  time  being,  accessing  the  payment  systems  via  Italy's  banks).  Given  the  size  of  the 
banking sector in San Marino and its close interaction with the banks active in the euro area, it 
would be sensible to ask the Republic of San Marino to align its banking and financial sector 
legislation with that applicable in the euro-area Member States.  

The obligations to transpose relevant EC legislation into the domestic legal order and/or 
to adopt equivalent measures are very unequal in the three countries which have signed 
a Monetary Agreement with the Community.  

In order to ensure proper protection of euro banknotes and coins against counterfeiting, 
the  implementation  of  the  relevant  EC  legislation  should  be  monitored  in  all  three 
countries.  

The banks and financial institutions of San Marino should be subject to the same rules 
as  their  counterparts  in  the  euro  area.  San  Marino  should  therefore  be  asked  to 
transpose the relevant existing EC legislation in the domain of banking and finance and 
take  on  board  all  updates  and  new  laws  in  this  field.  Provision  could  be  made  for  a 
transition period of two years in view of both the complexity of this legislation and the 
limited administrative capacities of the Republic.  

3.2. 

Follow-up mechanisms 

The Monetary Agreements replaced the Conventions which existed between France and Italy 
on  the  one  hand  and  Monaco,  Vatican  and  San  Marino  on  the  other.  They  are  no  longer 
bilateral agreements, but Agreements between third countries and the European Community 
adopted  on  the  basis  of  Article  111  of  the  Treaty.  Monaco,  Vatican  and  San  Marino  were 
given the right to issue coins which are legal tender for the 325 million inhabitants of the euro 
area. The Member States of the euro area have to observe strict rules whose implementation is 
closely  monitored  by  the  EU  institutions.  The  latter  should  therefore  have  a  proper  role  in 
following up the implementation of the Monetary Agreements. 

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The  Monetary  Agreement  with  Monaco  provides  for  a  Joint  Committee  whose  task  is  to 
facilitate  the  implementation  and  operation  of  the  Agreement.  It  is  composed  of 
representatives  of  the  Principality  of  Monaco,  France,  the  European  Commission  and  the 
European Central Bank and holds meetings generally once a year. During the meetings, the 
parties discuss the progress in implementing the Agreement and possible amendments to the 
Annexes  listing  the  legislation  to  be  transposed.  Cooperation  in  the  fight  against 
counterfeiting of euro banknotes and coins and in implementing relevant legislative measures 
is also regularly examined by the Committee.  

In  contrast  with  the  procedure  envisaged  for  the  Agreement  with  Monaco,  no  provision  is 
made for a follow-up procedure in the Agreements signed with San Marino and Vatican. In 
the absence of regular formal follow-up, San Marino and Vatican do not regularly report on 
the  implementation  of  the  Agreements.  The  compatibility  of  their  legislation  with  the 
obligations which the Monetary Agreements entail has not been scrutinised, neither are they 
properly informed of developments in the fields covered by the latter.  

With  a  view  to  preparing  this  Communication,  the  Commission  and  the  ECB  organised  an 
informal meeting with representatives of the three States in March 2009. The dialogues with 
the representatives of Monaco and San Marino were constructive while the Vatican City was 
less open to an exchange of views and information.  

The  Agreements  with  Vatican  and  San  Marino  do  not  offer  a  platform  for  regular 
discussion  on  their  functioning.  In  the  absence  of  regular  meetings,  the  authorities  of 
San Marino and Vatican face difficulties in keeping track of newly adopted legislation in 
the  fields  covered  by  the  Agreements  and  the  Community  institutions  cannot  properly 
monitor  the  implementation  of  the  Agreements.  The  Commission  therefore  suggests 
creating  two  joint  committees  -  similar  to  the  one  existing  with  the  Principality  of 
Monaco - with the Vatican City and the Republic of San Marino. The committees would 
bring  together  representatives  of  San  Marino/Vatican,  Italy,  the  Commission  and  the 
ECB  and  would  meet  at  least  once  a  year  in  order  to  monitor  the  progress  in 
implementing the Agreements and possible amendments thereof.  

3.3. 

Safeguard clause in case of a serious shortcoming in the implementation of the 
Agreements 

By signing the Monetary Agreements with the Community, the three States made a number of 
commitments  in  exchange  for  the  right  to  use  the  euro  as  their  national  currency  and  issue 
euro  coins.  While  the  EU  has  the  possibility  to  launch  an  infringement  procedure  when  a 
Member  State  fails  to  abide  to  its  obligations,  the  present  Agreements  have  not  given  the 
Community any leverage in the event that the country having signed an Agreement does not 
fulfil  its  obligations  (besides  the  ultimate  –  and  therefore  unlikely  -  possibility  to  withdraw 
unilaterally from the Agreement).  

The  Commission  suggests  that  the  EU  should  be  allowed  to  decide  on  a  temporary 
suspension  of  the  right  to  issue  euro  coins  in  the  event  of  a  persistent  (e.g.  lasting  2 
years) and serious breach of the obligations which the Monetary Agreements entail. The 
temporary  suspension  of  the  right  of  issuance  (e.g.  for  persistent  failure  to  transpose 
relevant Community legislation) would be preceded by several warnings and exchanges 
of views. 

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3.4. 

Ceilings for the issuance of euro coins 

Monaco, Vatican and San Marino are entitled to issue euro coins bearing the national sides of 
their countries and having legal tender status throughout the euro area.  

For historical reasons, the ceilings for maximum yearly issuance were fixed in very different 
ways8. Monaco is authorised to issue a maximum of 1/500th of the quantity of coins minted in 
France (i.e. of euro coins with French national sides). In 2009, it was authorised to issue euro 
coins with a total face value of €221 094.  

The ceilings of San Marino and Vatican consist of fixed amounts adapted every two years to 
take account of the changes in Italy's consumer price index. These two ceilings were based on 
the ceilings of issuance used in the pre-euro agreements with Italy and are not linked to any 
real  variable,  such  as  the  number  of  inhabitants,  GDP  or  euro  coin  issuance  in  the  Member 
States of the euro area. For 2008 and 2009, they are set at €2 183 112 for San Marino and €1 
074 000 for Vatican. The Vatican City State may issue additional volumes of euro circulation 
coins for special occasions (see Section 2.1.).  

All three countries have so far strictly respected their ceilings of issuance. 

The actual per capita figures suggest that the ceilings of issuance for the countries which have 
signed Monetary Agreements with the Community are generous. As of September 2008, the 
value of coins issued per inhabitant amounted to €7 028 in Vatican, €422 in San Marino and 
€190 in Monaco. During the same period (2002- 2008), the average issuance in the euro-area 
Member  States  reached  €63  per  capita  (for  details  see  Annex  I).  Higher  quotas  of  issuance 
than what would be proportional to their number of inhabitants can nevertheless be justified 
by  the  relatively  higher  demand  for  and  absorption  of  these  coins  stemming  from  the  coin 
collectors' market.  

However,  euro  circulation  coins  are  primarily  a  payment  instrument:  they  should  circulate 
freely in the market and be used for payments. Circulation coins absorbed by coin collectors 
do not serve their original purpose but are exclusively used as collectors' items.  

With  a  view  to  allowing  some  circulation  of  their  coins,  the  Commission  suggests  that  the 
ceilings  of  issuance  for  the  three  countries  which  have  signed  a  Monetary  Agreement  be 
increased. The new ceilings would be calculated according to a new uniform method granting 
equal  treatment  to  all  three  countries.  The  original  Monetary  Agreements  granted  de  facto 
much  less  favourable  treatment  to  Monaco  than  to  San  Marino  and  Vatican.  As  a 
consequence, Monaco at present issues approximately one tenth of the number of coins issued 
by San Marino and one fifth of those issued by Vatican, although Monaco's population is the 
biggest among the three countries and its Monetary Agreement comprises the biggest number 
of obligations.  

A new ceiling for a year (n) would be composed of a fixed and a variable part: 

8 

The  Monetary  Agreements  incorporated  the  methodology  which  was  used  for  fixing  the  ceilings  of 
issuance in the Monetary Conventions existing before the introduction of the euro. 

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(1) 

(2) 

The  fixed  part  should  aim  at  covering  the  demand  of  coin  collectors.  According  to 
common estimates, a total value of around €2 100 000 should be sufficient to cover the 
demand of the collectors' market.9  

The variable part would be based on the average per capita issuance in the euro area. 
The  average  number  of  coins  per  capita  issued  in  (n-1)  in  the  euro  area  would  be 
multiplied  by  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  a  country  having  signed  a  Monetary 
Agreement.  

A simulation of the 2009 ceilings calculated on the basis of this method can be seen in Table 
1. 

Table1: Ceilings of issuance calculated on the basis of a uniform method (2009 example) 

Country 

Population  Variable 

Fixed part 

part 

(€3.61 per 
capita x 
population10) 

Total 
new 2009 
ceiling 

Total 
current 
2009 
ceiling 

(EUR) 

(EUR) 

(fixed + variable) 

(EUR) 

Monaco 

32 965 

119 004

2 100 000

2 219 004 

221 094

San Marino 

30 324 

109 470

2 100 000

2 209 470 

2 183 112

Vatican 

826 

2 952

2 100 000

2 102 952 

1 074 000

The new method would increase significantly the ceiling for the issuance of coins of Monaco: 
from  approximately  €220  000  to  almost  €2  22 0  000.  The  ceiling  of  Vatican  would  almost 
double from €1 074 000 to more than €2 100 000.  

The increase in the ceilings of issuance should, however, be conditional on compliance with 
the new 'Commission Recommendation on common guidelines for the national sides and the 
issuance  of  euro  coins  intended  for  circulation'11,  endorsed  by  the  Council  on  10  February 
2009. Accordingly, all euro circulation coins should be put into circulation at face value with 
the  exception  of  a  minor  proportion  of  issued  coins  which  may  be  sold  at  a  higher  price  if 
justified  by  reasons  such  as  special  quality  or  packaging.  Both  Monaco  and  San  Marino 
respect this rule: Monaco distributes a majority of its coins mixed in coin rolls with the euro 
coins of other euro area countries to Monegasque banks. San Marino supplies some 70% of its 
coins to the banks on its territory without mixing them with other countries' euro coins. With 
a view to preventing massive purchases of San Marino coins in local banks by coin collectors, 
one possible solution would be to mix them with other countries' euro coins before supplying 
them  to  the  banks.  The  biggest  changes  from  the  point  of  view  of  current  practices  will  be 
required on the part of the Vatican City State, which issues virtually all its circulation coins in 

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11 

San  Marino  has  for  instance  concentrated  on  striking  selected  euro  denomination  coins  with  some 
success: these coins are now used at face value for transactions.  
In 2008, the average net issuance in the euro area was €3.61 per capita. 
See footnote 2.  

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collectors' sets (in the euro area less than 1% of the coins are sold above face value in coin 
sets).  

A  new  common  method  would  also  be  applicable  to  any  potential  future  monetary 
agreement12. 

The  Commission  suggests  introducing  a  new  method  for  calculating  the  ceilings  of 
issuance, which would put all countries having signed a Monetary Agreement with the 
Community on an equal footing. The common method would ensure fair treatment and 
take into account the demand generated by coin collectors, with a view to ensuring some 
effective circulation of the euro circulation coins issued by these countries. 

3.5. 

Rules for minting euro coins  

The Monetary Agreement with Monaco reserves the right of the national Mint of France to 
produce the euro coins of Monaco, while the  coins of Vatican and San Marino can only be 
minted  by  the  Mint  of  Italy.  This  rule  was  introduced  for  historical  reasons  at  a  time  when 
euro cash was not yet in circulation and nearly all the euro-area countries were minting euro 
coins only for their own needs, with very little cooperation in the production and management 
of stocks. The situation has now evolved, with a number of euro-area countries today having 
their  coins  minted  in  another  euro-area  country  and  some  purchasing  coins  from  foreign 
stocks.  De  facto,  a  large  number  of  euro-area  Mints  have  developed  a  wide  and  dynamic 
commercial activity of production of coins for other European and non-European countries13.  

Although  the  existing  arrangements  of  Monaco,  San  Marino  and  Vatican  with  the  Mints  of 
France and Italy seem to work well, there is today no reason from an EU law perspective to 
maintain  a  monopoly  of  certain  national  Mints  for  the  production  of  the  coins  needed  for 
implementing an  agreement between the Community  and  a  third  country.  Such  a  monopoly 
goes  totally  against  the  spirit  of  the  Treaty  and  creates  de  facto  discrimination  between 
Member States, as the other Mints of the euro area are denied the legitimate right to make an 
offer for striking the coins needed by Monaco, Vatican and San Marino.  

The  euro-area  Mints  should  be  given  the  opportunity  to  make  an  offer  to  the  three 
countries  concerned  for  the  production  of  their  euro  coins,  and  Monaco,  Vatican  and 
San Marino should be allowed to freely select the contractor of their choice from among 
them14.  

12 
13 
14 

An agreement is being discussed with the Principality of Andorra.  
10 euro area Mints export coins.  
The country who's Mint would produce euro coins for a country having signed a Monetary Agreement 
would add these coins to the volume of coins it plans to issue for its own use for the purpose of the ECB 
approval of the total volume of issuance, in line with the existing practice. The rights of issuance of the 
euro-area Member State in question would not be reduced, the volume of issuance having no a priori 
limit.  

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4. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  Commission  was  invited  by  the  Council  to  review  the  functioning  of  the  existing 
Monetary Agreements. Following a detailed examination of the Agreements, the Commission 
suggests amending them with a view to including the following elements: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Ensuring  a  more  level  playing  field  as  regards  the  obligations  of  the  countries 
having signed the Monetary Agreements with the Community; 

Creating a proper follow-up mechanism for all three Agreements; 

Introducing a possibility to suspend the right to issue euro coins in the event of a 
serious and persistent breach of the obligations which the Agreement entails; 

Introducing  a  common  method  for  calculating  the  ceilings  of  issuance  of  euro 
coins and revising them accordingly; 

Allowing the euro-area Mints to make an offer for the production of the coins of 
Monaco, Vatican and San Marino, and leaving it up to the latter to select freely 
their contractor from among them. 

A  mandate  to  renegotiate  the  Monetary  Agreement  with  Monaco  could  be  given  to  the 
Commission  and  France  in  association  with  the  ECB  while  the  Monetary  Agreements  with 
San  Marino  and  Vatican  could  be  renegotiated  by  the  Commission  and  Italy,  in  association 
with the ECB. 

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ANNEX I – Cumulative Coin Issuance end-200815  

Country 

Population16  Number of 
issued coins 
(1000) 

Number of 
issued coins 
per capita 

Value of 
issued coins 
(1000 EUR) 

Value of 
issued coins 
(EUR/head) 

Monaco 

32 965 

7 439

San Marino 

30 324 

24 074

226

794

6 285 

190.66

12 808 

422.38

Vatican 

Euro area 

826 

5 461

6 611

5 806 

7 028.77

323 186 285  

82 033 879 

254 

20 399 071  

63.12 

BE 

DE 

IE 

EL 

ES 

FR 

IT 

CY 

LU 

MT 

NL 

AT 

PT 

SI 

FI 

10 741 048  

3 227 578 

300 

1 168 911  

108.83 

82 062 249  

23 406 690 

285 

5 689 889  

69.34 

4 517 758  

4 096 719 

11 262 539  

2 190 838 

907 

195 

697 268  

154.34 

661 998  

58.78 

45 853 045  

14 198 243 

310 

3 419 593  

74.58 

64 105 125  

12 485 491 

195 

2 439 620  

38.06 

60 090 430  

11 526 576 

192 

3 635 354  

60.50 

801 622  

217 011 

271 

73 282  

91.42 

491 702  

513 019 

1043 

181 312  

368.74 

412 614  

110 173 

16 481 139  

2 829 555 

8 356 707  

3 918 946 

10 631 800  

2 012 771 

2 053 393  

159 550 

267 

172 

469 

189 

78 

31 244  

75.72 

539 189  

32.72 

959 720  

114.84 

416 684  

39.19 

39 906  

19.43 

5 325 115  

1 140 716 

214 

445 100  

83.59 

15 

16 

Sources: ECB (cumulative net issuance) for EU countries; relevant institutions in France and Italy for 
the three third countries. 
Sources: Eurostat for EU countries; CIA fact book (July 2009 estimates) for the three third countries. 

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