Recommendation for a COUNCIL DECISION on the arrangements for the negotiation of a Monetary Agreement with the French Republic, acting for the benefit of the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy
Date: 2011-03-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Economic and Monetary Union, Saint Barthélemy, economic policy, euro, legal status, monetary agreement, negotiation of an agreement (EU), overseas territory, peripheral region

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 2.3.2011 
SEC(2011) 249 final 

Recommendation for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

of 2.3.2011 

on the arrangements for the negotiation of a Monetary Agreement with the French 
Republic, acting for the benefit of the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

•  The Island  of  Saint-Barthélemy –  currently listed among the  EU  outermost regions  - has 
expressed the wish to change of legal status, with a view to becoming an overseas territory, 
covered by Part Four of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The French 
President has asked in a letter dated 30 June 2010 the European Council to decide such a 
change,  which  it  approved  during  its  meeting  of  29  October  2010,  with  effect  from  1st 
January 2012.  

•  The French authorities have expressed the wish to maintain the euro in Saint-Barthélemy, 
despite the fact that the island will no longer be part of the territory of the European Union. 
The use of the euro as an official currency outside of the EU with the consent of the latter 
is not unprecedented: the EU has concluded monetary agreements on the basis of Article 
219  (3)  of  the  Treaty  with  the  Principality  of  Monaco,  the  Republic  of  San  Marino,  the 
Vatican  City  State  and  is  about  to  conclude  a  fourth  agreement  with  the  Principality  of 
Andorra.  The  euro  is  the  official  currency  of  Saint-Pierre  et  Miquelon  et  Mayotte,  two 
French Overseas countries and territories. 

•  Those agreements acknowledge the official use of the euro and ensure that the legislation 
which  is  needed  for  the  good  functioning  of  the  economic  and  monetary  union  is  made 
applicable  to  the  country  concerned.  The  fields  covered  include  usually  mainly  the 
monetary, banking and financial legislations and the various texts related to the prevention 
of fraud, counterfeiting and money laundering.  

•  None of the above mentioned fields falls under the competence of the overseas collectivity 
of Saint-Barthélemy. Though the EU texts requiring transposition measures by France will 
thus remain applicable  to Saint-Barthélemy, an  ad  hoc  solution  is  nevertheless  needed  to 
guarantee the continuous applicability to this overseas collectivity of the relevant present 
and future legal acts or legal instruments producing direct effects, notably Regulations and 
ECB decisions.  

•  The Commission should therefore be mandated to conclude a monetary agreement to this 
effect between the European Union and the French Republic, acting for the benefit of the 
overseas  collectivity  of  Saint-Barthélemy.  The  ECB  should  be  associated  to  this 
negotiation.  

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Recommendation for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

of 2.3.2011 

on the arrangements for the negotiation of a Monetary Agreement with the French 
Republic, acting for the benefit of the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 219(3) thereof, 

Having regard to the recommendation from the Commission1, 

Having regard to the opinion of the European Central Bank2, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

The Union has the competence for monetary and exchange rate matters as of the date 
of the introduction of the euro. 

The  Council  is  to  determine  the  arrangements  for  the  negotiation  and  conclusion  of 
agreements concerning monetary or foreign exchange regime matter. 

The European Council Decision of 29 October 20103 amending the status with regard 
to  the  European  Union  of  the  island  of  Saint-Barthélemy  foresees  that  the  island  of 
Saint-Barthélemy shall cease to be an outermost region of the Union with effect from 
1 January 2012 and shall have the status of overseas country or territory referred to in 
Part Four of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFUE).  

The French Republic has undertaken to conclude the agreements necessary to ensure 
that the interests of the Union are preserved when this change takes place.  

France has informed the EU institutions of its intention to retain the euro as the sole 
currency on Saint-Barthélemy.  

A  monetary  agreement  should  therefore  be  negotiated  between  the  European  Union 
and the French Republic, acting for the benefit of the French overseas collectivity of 
Saint-Barthélemy,  with  a  view  to  ensuring  the  continuous  application  to  Saint-
Barthélemy of the relevant EU legislations.  

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3 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 
OJ L 325, 9.12.2010, p. 4. 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

The  European  Union  shall  seek  the  following  elements  in  the  negotiation  of  a  Monetary 
Agreement with the French Republic, acting for the benefit of the French overseas collectivity 
of Saint-Barthélemy: 

(a) The French Republic shall be authorised to retain the euro as the sole currency on Saint-
Barthélemy and to grant legal tender status to euro banknotes and coins on the territory of the 
latter.  

(b)  The  EU  legal  acts  in  the  following  fields  shall  remain  applicable  on  the  territory  of  the 
island  of  Saint-Barthélemy:  monetary,  banking  and  financial 
legislation  (including 
supervision of the institutions concerned), rules laying down the measures necessary for the 
use of the euro, prevention of money laundering and of fraud and counterfeiting of cash and 
non-cash  means  of  payment,  rules  on  medals  and  tokens  and  on  statistical  reporting 
requirements. 

(c) This continuous applicability of the relevant EU legal acts shall be ensured either: 

- via the French transposition measures (for the EU directives) and via direct enforcement (for 
the EU legal acts producing direct effects); 

- or via a change in the relevant French law, with a view to ensuring the full and immediate 
applicability of EU law to Saint-Barthélemy in the fields mentioned in paragraph (b). 

The  Commission  shall  conduct  the  negotiation  with  the  French  Republic,  acting  for  the 
benefit  of  the  French  overseas  collectivity  of  Saint-Barthélemy.  The  ECB  shall  be  fully 
associated with the negotiations and agree on issues falling within in its field of competence.  

Article 2 

Article 3 

The  Council,  on  a  proposal  by  the  Commission,  shall  adopt  the  decision  authorising  the 
signing and concluding of the agreement. 

This Decision is addressed to the Commission and the ECB. 

Done at Brussels, 2.3.2011 

For the Council 

The President 

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