Letter from Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), to Vincent Van Peteghem, Minister for Finance of the Kingdom of Belgium, regarding a request for an ECB opinion on draft amendments to the law of 8 July 2018 regarding the organisation of a central register of accounts and financial contracts and extending the access to the central register of seizure notices, delegation, transfer or collective settlement of debts, and protest
Date: 2021-07-29
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: legal basis

Frank Elderson 
Member of the Executive Board 

Mr Vincent Van Peteghem 

Minister for Finance 
Koning Albert II-laan 33 
1030 Schaarbeek  
BELGIUM 

ECB-PUBLIC 

Frankfurt am Main, 29 July 2021 

Request for an ECB opinion on draft amendments to the law of 8 July 2018 regarding the organisation 

of  a  central  register  of  accounts  and  financial  contracts  and  extending  the  access  to  the  central 

register of seizure notices, delegation, transfer or collective settlement of debts, and protest 

Dear Minister, 

Thank you for your letter of 2 July 2021 requesting an opinion of the European Central Bank (ECB) on draft 

amendments  to  the  law  of  8  July  2018  regarding  the  organisation  of  a  central  register  of  accounts  and 
financial contracts and extending the access to the central register of seizure notices, delegation, transfer or 
collective settlement of debts, and protest1 (hereinafter ‘the draft law’). 

After careful consideration, the ECB has decided not to adopt an opinion in the present case as the draft law 

only touches marginally on the ECB’s fields of competence pursuant to Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the 

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in conjunction with the third indent of Article 2(1) of Council 

Decision 98/415/EC2. In reaching its decision not to adopt an opinion, the ECB took into particular account 

that the amendments introduced by the draft law are only of a technical nature. 

The ECB appreciates that you have sent the draft law to the ECB for consultation and remains confident that 

the Ministry of Finance will continue to consult the ECB on future draft legislative provisions that fall within 

the ECB’s fields of competence under the Treaty and Decision 98/415/EC. 

Yours sincerely, 

[signed] 

Cc: 

Mr Pierre Wunsch, Governor, Nationale Bank van België/Banque Nationale de Belgique 

1   Wet van 8 juli 2018 houdende organisatie van een centraal aanspreekpunt van rekeningen en financiële contracten en tot 
uitbreiding  van  de  toegang  tot  het  centraal  bestand  van  berichten  van  beslag,  delegatie,  overdracht,  collectieve 
schuldenregeling en protest/ La loi du 8 juillet 2018 portant organisation d’un point de contact central des comptes et contrats 
financiers  et  portant extension de  l’accès  au  fichier  central  des  avis  de  saisie,  de  délégation,  de cession, de règlement 
collectif de dettes et de protêt. 

2   Council  Decision  98/415/EC  of  29  June  1998  on  the  consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national  authorities 

regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42).