Letter from Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), to László Kövér, President of the Hungarian Parliament, regarding the non-consultation of the ECB on Law XXXIX of 2015 of 18 April 2015 establishing a Fund for the compensation of the investors of Questor
Date: 2015-04-29
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: legal basis

Yves Mersch  

Member of the Executive Board 

Mr László Kövér 

President of the Hungarian Parliament 

Budapest 1357 

Kossuth Lajos tér 1-3. 

Hungary 

Dear Mr Kövér, 

ECB-PUBLIC 

[COURTESY TRANSLATION1] 

29 April 2015 

It has come to the attention of the European Central Bank (ECB) that Law XXXIX of 2015 2 establishing a 

Fund for the compensation of the investors of Questor entered into force on 18 April 2015 3. 

The  Law  establishes  measures  relating  to  the  stability  of  the  Hungarian  financial  system  including 

measures relating to the tasks and responsibilities of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB).  

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 provisions 4 requires national authorities to consult 

the ECB on draft legislative provisions concerning matters that fall within its competence. Issues related 

to national central banks and rules applicable to financial institutions insofar as they materially influence 

the stability of financial institutions and markets from the third and sixth indents of Article 2(1) of Decision 

98/415/EC, and are expressly listed among the areas on which the ECB should have been consulted.  

The  ECB  would  appreciate  the  Hungarian  authorities  including  the  Hungarian  Parliament  giving  due 

consideration to the above observations by honouring their obligation to consult the ECB in the future. It is 

in  particular  regrettable  that  a  piece  of  legislation  amending  the  Law  on  MNB  in  order  to  significantly 

involve  MNB  in  a  given  extraordinary  compensation  scheme  including  by  means  of  MNB  providing  a 

credit  line  to  the  scheme,  which  might  run  contrary  to  the  monetary  financing  prohibition,  has  not  been 

1 
2 

3 

4 

The official ECB letter is addressed in the official language of the concerned Member State. 
Published in Magyar Közlöny No 53/2015 (IV. 17.). 

T/4347  was  submitted  to  the  Hungarian  Parliament  for  adoption  by  a  member  of  the  Parliament,  rendering  the 
Hungarian  Parliament  the  national  authority  subject  to  the  consultation  obligation  with  the  ECB  under  Article  2  of 
Council Decision 98/415/EC. 
OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 

consulted. Finally, the ECB recalls the need to consult it in the case of further legislative work initiated in 

relation to the issues regulated by the above-specified Law. 

ECB-PUBLIC 

Yours sincerely, 

[--] 

Cc: 

Mr. V. Orban, Prime Minister 

Mr Gy. Matolcsy, Governor of the Magyar Nemzeti Bank 

Mr O. Rehn, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs 

Mr R. Requena, Director-General Legal Service, European Commission 

Encl. 

Guide to consultation of the ECB by national authorities regarding draft legislative provisions 

2