Opinion of the European Central Bank of 21 August 2013 on the handling and recirculation of euro banknotes and coins (CON/2013/65)
Date: 2013-08-21
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Latvia, counterfeiting, euro, fight against crime, money, national law

EN 

ECB-PUBLIC 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 21 August 2013 

on the handling and recirculation of euro banknotes and coins 

(CON/2013/65) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On  16  July  2013,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  Latvijas  Banka  for  an 

opinion on a Regulation on the handling and recirculation of euro banknotes and coins (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  regulation  relates  to  currency  matters, 

means of payment and Latvijas Banka. 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 

1.1  The  main  objective  of  the  draft  regulation  is  to  implement  the  requirements  of  Regulation  (EC) 

No 1338/2001 of the Council of 28 June 2001 laying down measures necessary for the protection 
of the euro against counterfeiting2, Regulation (EU) No 1210/2010 of the European Parliament and 

of the Council of 15 December 2010 concerning authentication of euro coins and handling of euro 
coins unfit for circulation3, and Decision ECB/2010/14 of 16 September 2010 on the authenticity 
and fitness checking and recirculation of euro banknotes4. 

1.2  To that end, the draft regulation lays down, inter alia, the procedure for the registration and control 

of  the  activities  of  companies  engaged  in  the  handling  and  recirculation  of  euro  banknotes  and 

coins, the requirements relating to machines used to process euro banknotes and coins and relating 

to the quality of the processing of euro banknotes, and the procedures for reporting data concerning 

the  machines  used  to  process  euro  banknotes  and  coins  and  the  volumes  of  processed  euro 

banknotes and coins. 

1  
2  
3  
4  

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
OJ L 181, 4.7.2001, p. 6. 
OJ L 339, 22.12.2010, p. 1. 
OJ L 267, 9.10.2010, p. 1. 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
ECB-PUBLIC 

2. 

General observations 

2.1  The draft regulation imposes obligations on cash handlers and seeks to safeguard the integrity of 

euro banknotes and coins as a means of payment. The ECB generally welcomes the draft regulation 

and  is  confident  that  its  provisions  will  ensure  the  preservation  of  euro  banknotes  and  coins  in 

circulation and therefore maintain the general public’s confidence in euro banknotes and coins. 

2.2  The  ECB  considers  it  essential  that  any  draft  legislation  should  clarify  the  primacy  and  direct 

application  of  Union  law  on  the  authentication  of  euro  banknotes  and  coins  and  the  handling  of 

euro banknotes and coins unfit for circulation. For consistency reasons, the ECB favours the use of 

direct references to Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001, Regulation (EU) No 1210/2010 and Decision 

ECB/2010/14 or, alternatively, reproduction of their provisions without any alterations or additions. 

2.3 

In  addition,  although  national  authorities  are  not  formally  obliged  to  consult  the  ECB  on  the 

implementation  of  the  Member  States’  obligation  to  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that 

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

and  deterrent  sanctions,  the  ECB  believes  it  is  beneficial  to  harmonise throughout  the  Union  the 

national  measures implementing  the abovementioned obligation to  the  extent  possible,  subject to 
national peculiarities5. 

3. 

Specific observations 

3.1  Annexes 2 to 4 to the draft regulation are drafted based on Annex I, Annex III and Appendix 1 to 

Decision  ECB/2010/14.  The  ECB  notes  that  Decision  ECB/2010/14,  including  its  annexes  and 

appendices,  is  amended  by  Decision  ECB/2012/19  of  7  September  2012  amending  Decision 
ECB/2010/14  on  the  authenticity  and  fitness  checking  and  recirculation  of  euro  banknotes6,  and 

these  amendments  need  to  be  reflected  in  the  draft  regulation  and  its  annexes  in  particular.  The 

ECB  further  notes  that  the  draft  regulation  does  not  mirror  Annexes  IIa  and  IIb  of  Decision 

ECB/2010/14, which should be implemented to provide for criteria for classification and treatment 

of euro banknotes by customer-operated machines and by staff-operated machines.   

3.2  Paragraphs  29  and  30  of  the  draft  regulation  make  specific  reference  to  cash  management  IT 

systems  (CashSSP  and  One  Gate),  thus  appearing  to  limit  the  choice  of  technology  that  may  be 

used. These paragraphs should be redrafted to avoid reference to specific tools.  

5  
6  

Paragraph 2.4 of Opinion CON/2011/105. 
OJ L 253, 20.9.2012, p. 19. 

2 

 
 
 
                                                 
ECB-PUBLIC 

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

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 21 August 2013. 

[signed] 

The Vice-President of the ECB 

Vítor CONSTÂNCIO 

3