Opinion of the European Central Bank of 7 October 2011 on sanctions related to the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (CON/2011/78)
Date: 2011-10-07
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Slovenia, counterfeiting, euro, fight against crime, fine, money, national law

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 7 October 2011  

on sanctions related to the protection of the euro against counterfeiting 

(CON/2011/78) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 8 September 2011 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Slovenian Ministry 

of  Finance  for  an  opinion  on  a  draft  regulation  on  the  implementation  of  Council  Regulation  (EC) 

No 1338/2001  of  28  June  2001  laying  down  measures  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  euro  against 

counterfeiting,  amended  by  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  44/2009  of  18  December  2008  amending 

Regulation  (EC)  No  1338/2001  laying  down  measures  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  euro  against 

counterfeiting (hereinafter the ‘draft regulation’). 

The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 

Functioning  of  the  European  Union  and  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 law relates to currency matters,  means of 

payment  and  Banka  Slovenije.  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 

Pursuant  to  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  44/2009  of  18  December  2008  amending  Regulation  (EC) 
No 1338/2001 laying down measures necessary for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting2, the 

draft regulation: (a) sets out the offences in breach of the first and second subparagraphs of Article 6(1) of 

Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 in conjunction with Decision ECB/2010/14 of the European Central Bank 
of 16 September 2010 on the authenticity and fitness checking and recirculation of euro banknotes3; and 

(b)  provides  that  Banka  Slovenije  is  the  competent  authority  to  supervise  compliance  with  Regulation 

(EC) No 1338/2001 and to take decisions on offences under the draft regulation. The draft regulation will 

enter into force on 31 December 2011. 

1  
2  
3  

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.  
OJ L 17, 22.1.2009, p. 1.  
OJ L 267, 9.10.2010, p. 1. 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                      
ECB-PUBLIC 

2. 

General observations 

2.1  Even though national authorities are not required to consult the ECB on measures taken to ensure 

that  breaches  of  Article  6(1)  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1338/2001  are  subject  to  effective, 

proportionate and deterrent sanctions, it is nonetheless beneficial  to address this issue in order to 

encourage  a  harmonised  approach  across  the  Union  to  the  extent  possible,  subject  to  national 
peculiarities4. 

2.2  The ECB broadly welcomes the draft regulation which should provide for an effective system of 

deterrent  sanctions  in  relation  to  the  protection  of  the  euro  against  counterfeiting  and  thus 

contribute to maintaining public confidence in euro banknotes in circulation.  

3. 

Consistency with Union legislation 

3.1  Articles  3  to  9  of  the  draft  regulation  describe  cash  handler  obligations,  the  breach  of  which 

constitutes  a  serious  or  minor  offence  sanctioned  by  a  fine  under  Articles  11  or  12  of  the  draft 

regulation.  The  ECB  considers  it  essential  for  the  draft  regulation  to  only  deviate  from  Decision 

ECB/2010/14  where  the  Decision  has  expressly  allowed  such  deviations.  To  ensure  consistency, 

the ECB recommends including direct references in the draft regulation to the relevant provisions 

of Decision ECB/2010/14, including its technical annexes. Alternatively, a full reproduction of the 

relevant  provisions  of  Decision  ECB/2010/14  without  any  alterations  or  additions  is  also 

acceptable. 

3.2  Decision  ECB/2010/14  applies  to  cash  handlers  by  virtue  of  Article  6(1)  of  Regulation  (EC) 

No 1338/2001, which refers to procedures defined by the ECB for checking euro banknotes. In this 

context, the ECB understands that the terms used in the draft regulation have the same meaning as 

in  Decision  ECB/2010/14.  If  necessary  to  ensure  legal  certainty,  additional  new  terms  should  be 
defined5.  

4. 

Sanctions regime 

In accordance with Articles 11 and 12 of the draft regulation, a fine of EUR 75 000 will be imposed on 

cash  handlers  committing  a  serious  breach  of  their  obligations  under  the  draft  regulation  and  a  fine  of 

EUR 3 000 will be imposed on the responsible person of such cash handlers. For a minor breach, cash 

handlers will be fined EUR 30 000 and their respective responsible persons EUR 1 000. To ensure that 

specific circumstances are taken into account and that sanctions are proportionate, the ECB recommends 

that the Ministry consider whether the proposed system of fixed fines could be replaced by a system that 

sets a maximum ceiling or provides for a range of fines for each particular breach. 

4 

5 

See  paragraph  1.1  of  Opinion  CON/2010/87  and  paragraph  2.4  of  Opinion  CON/2011/64.  All  ECB  opinions  are 
published on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
For instance, it could be useful to define ‘euro banknote depot’ to ensure clarity in granting the remote credit institution 
branch status under Article 7(2) of the draft regulation. 

2 

 
 
                                                      
ECB-PUBLIC 

5. 

Tasks of Banka Slovenije under the draft regulation 

In accordance with Article 2 of the draft regulation, Banka Slovenije acts as the competent authority to 

supervise compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 and to take decisions regarding offences under 

the draft regulation. Banka Slovenije would have to commit additional human and financial resources to 

carry out these new tasks. In this context, the ECB has emphasised that ‘Member States may not put their 

[national  central  banks]  in  a  position  where  they  have  insufficient  financial  resources  to  carry out  their 
[European  System  of  Central  Banks]  or  Eurosystem  related  tasks,  as  applicable’6.  The  ECB  has 

consistently expressed its concern that, when allocating additional tasks to national central banks, it must 

be ensured that they have sufficient human and financial resources, both in terms of quantity and quality, 

for all of their tasks, and in particular that their capacity to fulfil their European System of Central Banks 
or Eurosystem-related tasks is not affected7. 

6. 

Name of the single currency 

The title and Article 1 of the draft regulation refer to the full title of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 and 

thereby uses the incorrect spelling of the name of the single currency (‘evro’ instead of ‘euro’). The ECB 

would  like  to  draw  the  Ministry’s  attention  to  the  corrigendum  to  the  Slovenian  language  version  of 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1338/20018  replacing  all  instances  of  incorrect  spelling  of  the  name  of  the  single 

currency with the correct spelling and thus making it compatible with Union law in this respect. The ECB 

expects that the abovementioned spelling mistakes in the draft regulation will be corrected. 

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 7 October 2011. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Jean-Claude TRICHET 

6  
7  

8  

See e.g. the ECB’s Convergence Report May 2010, p. 21, available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
In the context of consultations by Slovenian authorities, see e.g. paragraph 2.3 of Opinion CON/2007/38, paragraph 3.5 
of Opinion CON/2011/25 and paragraph 3.1 of Opinion CON/2011/70. 
OJ L 121, 6.5.2006, p. 56. 

3