Opinion of the European Central Bank of 29 October 2009 on extending the deadline for submitting certain banknotes to be exchanged (CON/2009/87)
Date: 2009-10-29
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Hungary, issuing of currency, money, national law

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 29 October 2009 

on extending the deadline for submitting certain banknotes to be exchanged 

(CON/2009/87) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  12  October  2009,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  Magyar  Nemzeti 

Bank (MNB) for an opinion on a draft regulation recalling certain notices on the withdrawal of banknotes 

from circulation (hereinafter the ‘draft regulation’). 

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

European  Community  and  the  second  indent  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 relates to 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 regulation 

The  purpose  of  the  draft  regulation  is  to  extend  the  deadline  for  submitting  certain  forint  banknotes 

withdrawn from circulation for exchange by the MNB. In particular, the draft regulation intends to extend 

the  deadline  for  submitting  500  and  1  000  forint  banknotes  withdrawn  from  circulation  until 

1 September 2019, and 5 000 forint until 27 July 2019. Article 31(1) and (3) of Law LVIII of 2001 on the 
Magyar  Nemzeti  Bank2  forms  the  legal  basis  for  the  draft  regulation  on  extending  the  exchangeability 

deadline. Furthermore, the draft regulation recalls several notices regulating the withdrawal and exchange 

of forint banknotes withdrawn from circulation issued between 1998 and 2001 by the MNB’s Governor. 

2.  General observations 

2.1  The  ECB  welcomes  the  MNB’s  use  of  a  regulation  to  extend  the  deadline  for  submitting  for 

exchange  forint  banknotes  withdrawn  from  circulation  as  it  provides  greater  legal  certainty  than 

notices.  The  ECB  understands  that  the  draft  regulation  after  its  adoption  will  merely  extend  the 

1  
2  

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
Published in Magyar Közlöny 2001/76 (VII. 5.).  

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
deadline  for  submitting  forint  banknotes  withdrawn  from  circulation  without  affecting  more 

general financial matters.  

2.2  The ECB shares the view that the issue of banknotes belongs to core central banking tasks. In the 

case of the Eurosystem, the issue of euro banknotes is a public task attributed to the ECB and the 

Eurosystem  national  central  banks  by  Article  106(1)  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European 

Community  and  Article  16  of  the  Statute  of  the  European  System  of  Central  Banks  and  of  the 

European Central Bank. The ECB has legislated on  certain aspects of the regime for the issue of 

euro  banknotes  with  regard  to  (i)  putting  euro  banknotes  into  circulation;  (ii)  taking  individual 

banknotes  out  of  circulation;  and  (iii)  the  withdrawal  of  types  or  series  of  banknotes  from 
circulation which will have to be taken into account when Hungary adopts the euro3. 

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 29 October 2009. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Jean-Claude TRICHET 

3  

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). 

2