CELEX: 51993PC0253
Language: en
Date: 1993-06-07
Title: Amended proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON DEPOSIT-GUARANTEE SCHEMES

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                       C0M(93) 253 final-SYN415
                                       Brussels, 7  June 1993
                       Amended proposal for a
                          COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
                  ON DEPOSIT-GUARANTEE SCHEMES
      (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 149(3)
                         of the EEC-Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---                                            - 1 -
                   AMENDED PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON
                              DEPOSIT-GUARANTEE SCHEMES
                                EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
 I. Retnjpder çf prpçedure
 1. On 6 May    1992 the Commission        adopted   a proposal     for  a Directive on
    deposit-guarantee schemes,1        which   was  sent    to  the Council    by  letter
    dated 14 June.
    The Council    immediately    forwarded    this text     to Parliament and    to the
    Economic   and  Social  Committee, and on         14 July    began   to examine   the
    proposal.
2. The Economic and Social Committee unanimously adopted an opinion on the
    Commission proposal    at    its 300th plenary meeting which          took place in
                              2
    Brussels on 22 October.
    The European Parliament adopted the legislative resolution embodying the
    opinion of Parliament on the Commission proposal for a Council Directive
    at its sitting of 10 March 1993.
3. This amended proposal has been drafted to take account of the outcome of
    the consultation of these two institutions.
4. The   European   Parliament     and   the   Economic    and  Social   Committee   have
    welcomed   the   proposal     for   a   minimum   degree    of   harmonization    and
    recognized   the  justification      of  opting    for   branch   depositors   to be
    guaranteed by the home-country scheme.
1   OJ No C 163, 30.06.1992.
2  0J No C 332, 16.12.1992.
                                                                                         7
 ---pagebreak---                                         - 2 -
 II.      Comments on amendments
 The European Parliament has suggested two key amendments to the Directive,
 namely an increase in the minimum amount of the guarantee from ECU 15 000 to
 ECU 20 000   and   the  exemption  from  compulsory   membership   of  a deposit-
 guarantee scheme of authorized institutions which receive deposits from the
public but already enjoy protection because they belong to a scheme which
guarantees the institutions themselves (and therefore their depositors).
 In several Member States, the federative body, where it exists, belongs to
 the national guarantee scheme; in other Member States, this is not possible
because both     the guarantee   scheme and    the network  itself   are organized
differently.
Parliament explains its proposal      in the new recital which     is partly taken
over in the amended proposal;      this recalls the efficiency of these schemes
and observes that they satisfy the Directive's objectives even though they
"pursue a slightly different protection goal".
Comments on individual Articles
Article 1
With   greater    clarity    in mind,   two   definitions  have   been   added  to
paragraph 1> these two definitions take over, unchanged, the ones already
used in Article 1 of the first banking Directive.
The definition of deposits has been amended to exclude from the Directive's
scope   bonds   of   a  special  nature  the   holders  of  which   already  enjoy
protection because these securities are linked to property guarantees, which
gives their holder a priority right to reimbursement out of the proceeds of
the sale of the mortgaged property.
This exclusion was also requested by the Economic and Social Committee.
                                                                                   3
 ---pagebreak---                                          3 -
 In Article 1(2) a reference has been added to cover the case of banks which
 deposit in another bank "funds entrusted to it by one of its clients".        In
 the view of Parliament, the client must not forfeit his guarantee and "the
 principle of the 'beneficial owner' expanded     in Article 5(3) should apply,
 provided  that the existence and     identity of  the beneficial  owner can be
established".3
Article 2
The inclusion in Article 2 of the content of Parliament's amendments Nos 8,
 10, 11 and 12, all of    which relate to this Article, has required it to be
 redrated more extensively than is warranted by the       strict content of the
amendments, because    it was necessary    to clarify certain points which had
become necessary for the cohesiveness of the whole text.
For example, it was necessary to spell out the limits of the exemption and
to amend the details of the exclusion procedure slightly in order to comply
with Parliament's request      for the Article to make clear    that  it  is the
guarantee scheme, or rather its managers, which undertake the exclusion.       It
was therefore necessary to add that they cannot do so unless authorized by
national   law and with the consent of the supervisory authorities; this was
not explicitly stated in the initial version of the text but does not change
 its meaning.
The wording adopted in Article 2(1) of this amended proposal corresponds in
spirit   to Parliament's suggestion, stating     the exemption  conditions more
fully (institutions must be covered by a scheme which guarantees their total
solvency).
With   regard  to  Article   2(3)  the  Commission   had proposed   that,  after
exclusion from a guarantee scheme, deposits (old or new) be guaranteed for a
one-year period.
The Economic and Social Committee requested that this one-year guarantee be
limited to deposits existing at the time of the exclusion.
3   Document PE 202.403/fin. (Explanatory statement, p.15).
                                                                                  k
 ---pagebreak---                                          - 4 -
 Parliament requested that this guarantee be limited to existing deposits and
 to those placed with in one month of the exclusion.
 The Commission wished an intervention by the supervisory authorities to make
 it impossible for credit     institutions not covered by a guarantee scheme to
 receive new deposits, and therefore supported Parliament's request            for an
amendment of this point.
Article 3
Article 3 has chiefly been amended to introduce a rule which states that
Member States shall take account of the coverage which may be received by
branches established by credit       institutions with their head office outside
the Committee if they already belong to a guarantee scheme (this must be at
 least equivalent to the scheme in force in the Member State in which they
are located).
Article 4
Article   4   increases   to   ECU 20 000   the   minimum  level   of  compensation,
provides   that deposits of "vital       importance"   may be guaranteed    in their
entirety and adds a review clause.
For this review clause, a period of five years has been laid down (instead
of   the two years    requested);    the period could of course be shorter         if
necessary, but it seems to be the minimum within which some experience can
be   acquired.   Five  years   might   even  prove   insufficient   in view   of  the
experience    involved   since    it  is  very   desirable   for   recourse  to   the
deposit-guarantee scheme to remain exceptional.
The two-year period envisagedn by Parliament         is somewhat unrealistic given
the soundness of European institutions and the supervision to which they are
subject.   Any   monetary   readjustments    that   Member  States   might  consider
necessary   are permitted    at any time, since the Directive allows for the
level of coverage to be set above the harmonized minimum.
                                                                                     5"
 ---pagebreak---                                            - 5 -
 Article 6
 Article 6 sets out the details concerning information.
 None of the other amendments requested by Parliament and the Economic and
 Social Committee has been adopted.         The two institutions have been informed
of the reasons behind the rejection of their amendment request.
 Ml.    Parliament amendments not Included the amended proposal
 17th Recital (amendment No 4)
This Recital     concerns Article 3      (treatment    of   branches of     third-country
 institutions),     paragraph 1    of   which    has   been    amended    in    line   with
Parliament's amendment No 12.         However, the amendment        requested     for this
Recital    concerns    Article 3(2), which       has   not   been   amended:     there    is
therefore    no   reason    to  delete,    in   order   to   satisfy    Parliament,     the
requirement     to    inform   depositors,     which     is   an   essential      part   of
Article 3(2).
Article 1
There    are  six    amendments   to   this   Article.      Amendment    No 5    adds   two
definitions    (credit    institution    and   branch),    which   there    has   been   no
difficulty    in   taking   over   in  the   modified    proposal,    and   an   exception
covering a particular category of bonds, defined              in a previous directive,
which may also be adopted.        Two amendments requested by Parliament have not
been   able  to be     adopted:   the   last   indent   of   the  amendment     refers   to
categories    of  bonds    which  are   not   covered    by  uniform    arrangements     at
European level and are thus listed in the annex, with certain Member States
wishing them to be covered by the Directive, with others not requiring this.
The   reference    to   "interest   due   and   not   paid"    raises   the   problem    of
contractual freedom:      the method of calculation described by Parliament may
well be the most common one, but the contracting parties should be able to
envisage others (such an addition would prohibit this, which does not seem
proportionate).
 ---pagebreak---                                          - 6 -
 Amendment   No 6 would completely     change the whole tenor of the Commission
 proposal as regards non-availability of deposits, by lengthening the ten-day
period   indefinitely.      The ten-day   limit  is necessary   if the provision is
not to lose all effect, and it is even desirable that the guarantee should
begin to be paid to depositors before the ten days have elapsed.
Amendment    No 20 refers to deposits made        in order   to defraud   the system.
There   seems   no   point    in specifying    that   such  deposits   shall   not   be
reimbursed, precisely because they are not deposits to be repaid "under the
 legal and contractual      conditions" applicable     to them  (Article 1(1)).      If
the fraud is discovered before payment, they will of course not be covered
by the guarantee and       if the fraud    is discovered after     payment, the sums
received will have to be returned to the guarantee system, not under this
Directive but under ordinary law of each Member State.
Art icle 2
There are four amendments concerning this Article, two of which have been
taken over in the amended proposal.
Amendment    No 8  refers   to postal   banks,   in connection    with   Article 3 of
Directive 77/780/EEC, which specifically excludes certain of them.                Their
inclusion is thus erroneous.
The main point      of  this amendment    is to    loosen  the requirement    for ail
recognized institutions to join a deposit-guarantee scheme.            The Commission
is able    to accept    some very   limited exceptions     to the principles      lying
behind the Directive, but their scope must be specified in a "communautaire"
way and must not be dependent exclusively on assessment by national control
authorities.      This is why it has been possible to adopt         amendment No 21,
referring   to systems designed      to protect    institutions   (the scope of the
exception   to be defined by the amended proposal) and not amendment              No 8,
which   refers    to   "coverage  which    is  recognized    as  comparable    by   the
supervisory authority concerned".
Amendment No 9 affirms a principle of non-discrimination which derives from
the Treaty and not from this Directive, and            it has therefore been taken
over.
 ---pagebreak---                                         - 7 -
Article 4a (new) amendment No 16
This   amendment    adds  an  Article   to  the  Directive     in order    to  enable
depositors    to take direct    action against     the deposit-guarantee scheme.
There   is no doubt some reason for this         in those countries where only
 institutions which are members of the scheme will be able to have recourse
to the courts.       At Community level, however, the practical scope of this
amendment    is  likely   to be   limited, as    depositors     with  branches will
necessarily    have   to exercise   this right    in another Member State.        The
Commission proposal therefore does not take over this amendment.
Art icle 7 amendment No 18
This amendment reduces the time limit for payment from three months to two.
This   touches   on   an  essential   point   in  the   Commission    proposal:   the
three month limit cannot be reduced, as it is in any case extremely short
given the verification operations which have to be carried out before making
payments.     The checks may be made very long and difficult by the disorder
often encountered      in the accounts of credit       institutions which are in
crisis.
Annex - point 6 (amendment No 19)
The purpose of this amendment is to delete pension funds from the annex and
so to make it compulsory to cover them.        This does not take account of the
very different arrangements covering such funds.          Certain countries, where
pension   funds are much     better   protected, by other     domestic   rules, are
radically   opposed    to bringing   them, within    the   scope   of  bank   deposit
protection schemes.
 ---pagebreak---                                             COMMISSION
           Amended proposal for a Council Directive on deposit-guarantee schemes
                INITIAL PROPOSAL                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing
 the European    Economic Community, and      in
 particular the first and third sentences
of Article 57(2) thereof,
Having   regard   to  the proposal     from  the
Comm i ss i on,
 In   cooperation       with    the     European
Parliament,
Having    regard   to    the  opinion    of  the
Econom i c and Soc i a I Comm i t tee,
                 Tenth recital                                   Tenth recital
Whereas, however, the harmonized guarantee       Whereas,      however,    the    harmonized
level must not be too low in order not to        guarantee     level must not be too low
leave   too   great   a   number   of  deposits   in order    not   to  leave   too great a
outside the minimum protection threshold;        number    of    depositors    outside   the
whereas   in the absence of statistics on        minimum protection threshold; whereas
the amount and distribution of deposits in        it   seems    reasonable    to  take  as a
Community credit     institutions,    it seemed  basis an amount of ECU 20 000 as the
reasonable to take as a basis the median         harmonized guarantee level:
guarantee offered by the national systems;
whereas that amount is ECU 15 000;
 ---pagebreak---                                              - 2
               INITIAL PROPOSAL                              AMENDED PROPOSAL
               Eleventh recital                              Eleventh recital
 Whereas in the six Member States which are      Whereas    some    Member States      offer
 above  that  median   level,   the  guarantee   depositors     a   coverage     of    their
 schemes  offer   depositors   a  coverage  of   deposits which is higher: whereas it
 their deposits which is higher; whereas it      does not seem appropriate to require
 does not seem appropriate to require that       that these schemes, certain of which
 these schemes, certain of which have been       have  been   introduced    only   recently
 introduced   only   recently    pursuant   to   pursuant to Recommendation 87/63/EEC,
Recommendation 87/63/EEC,     be   amended  on   be amended on this point;
 this point;
                                                       Fourteenth recital a (new)
                                                Whereas           harmonizat ion           of
                                                deposit-quarantee      schemes      in   the
                                                Community must under no circumstances
                                                 Jeopardize    schemes    based    on    the
                                                protect ion        of        inst i tut ions.
                                                part icularly       as       they       have
                                                demonstrated        their      efficiency;
                                                whereas some Member States may accept
                                                that   institutions    participating       in
                                                such schemes, which pursue a slightly
                                                different    protection    goal,    satisfy
                                                the Directive's objectives;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE
                                                                                          /io
 ---pagebreak---                                               - 3 -
                INITIAL PROPOSAL                                AMENDED PROPOSAL
                   Article 1                                        Art icle 1
 1.'For the purpose of this Directive, the        1. For the purpose of this Directive
 following definitions shall apply:               the    following         definitions         shall
                                                  apply:
                                                 Credit     institution:         an   undertaking
                                                 whose business is to receive deposits
                                                 or   other    repayable        funds    from     the
                                                 public and to grant           credits for        its
                                                 own account.
                                                 Branch:     a   place     of    business     which
                                                 forms a     legally dependent         part of a
                                                 credit institution and which conducts
                                                 directly       all     or       some     of     the
                                                 operations      inherent      in the     business
                                                 of credit     institutions: any number of
                     1
                                                 branches     set   up    in the same        Member
                                                 State by a credit          institution having
                                                  its  head    office      in    another     Member
                                                 State shall      be regarded        as a single
                                                 branch:
Depos i t: credit balances which result from      Depos i t: Credit balances which result
funds   left in accounts or     from temporary   from   funds    left   in accounts or          from
situations   deriving   from   normal  banking   temporary      situations        deriving      from
transactions     and    which     the   credit   normal banking transactions and which
 institution must repay under the legal and      the   credit      institution       must     repay
contractual    conditions    applicable,   and   under     the     legal      and     contractual
claims   for which   negotiable   certificates   conditions applicable, and claims for
have been issued by a credit institution;        which    negotiable        certificates       have
                                                 been   issued by a credit          institution,
                                                 with   the    exception       of   bonds     which
                                                 sat isfy        the         condi t ions         of
                                                 Article 22(4)         of       the     Directive
                                                 concerning           undertakings               for
                                                 collective investment           in transferable
                                                 securities (UCITS) (88/220/EEC);
The other definitions are unchanged.
                                                                                                    H
 ---pagebreak---                                                _ 4 -
               INITIAL PROPOSAL                                  AMENDED PROPOSAL
                Article 1 (end)                                  Art icle 1 (end)
2. The    following   shall   be excluded   from   2.   The   following     shall    be   excluded
any repayment by the guarantee schemes:            from any     repayment     by   the guarantee
                                                   schemes ;
- the   obligations     towards   other   credit
  inst itut ions;                                  - subject       to     the    provisions     of
                                                      Article      5(3).      the     obligations
- subordinated     loans  in respect   of  which      towards other credit         institutions;
  there exist     binding   agreements   whereby
  such   loans are not     to be repaid until     - subordinated         loans    in   respect  of
  after settlement of all other debts in              which       there        exist       binding
  the    event     of    the    bankruptcy    or      agreements whereby        such    loans are
  liquidation of the credit      institution.         not    to   be     repaid     until    after
                                                      settlement     of   all   other    debts  in
                                                      the   event     of   the    bankruptcy    or
                                                      liquidation         of       the      credit
                                                      inst1 tut ion.
                                                                                                 /Il
 ---pagebreak---                                               - 5 -
               INITIAL PROPOSAL                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
                   Article 2                                      Article 2
1. Each Member State shall ensure that on        1.   Each   Member State        shall     ensure
its      territory        one     or       more  that on     its territory one or more
deposit-guarantee    schemes are     introduced  deposit-guarantee            schemes         are
in    which     all     credit    institutions    introduced.    With    the     exception     of
authorized    in   that   Member State    under  the    cases     referred        to    in    the
Article 3   of    Directive 77/780/EEC     must  fol lowing         subparagraph.              no
take part.    The schemes shall      cover  the   institution authorized in that Member
depositors   of   branches    set up   by  such  State        under         Article 3          of
institutions in other Member States.             Directive 77/780/EEC            may       accept
                                                 deposits unless it is a member of one
                                                 of these schemes.        The schemes shall
                                                 cover the depositors of branches set
                                                 up   by   such    institutions        in   other
                                                 Member States.
                                                 Nevertheless.       Member        States     may
                                                 exempt    a   credit      institution       from
                                                 taking   part    in   a   deposit-guarantee
                                                 scheme if that institution belongs to
                                                 a scheme which        protects      the credit
                                                  institution   itself and in particular
                                                 guarantees its liquid assets and its
                                                 solvency, provided that:
                                                 - such    protection      is recognized       as
                                                    equivalent to that provided by the
                                                    authorized scheme or schemes, and
                                                 - the   protection      concerned        is  not
                                                    that  granted     to    a   public     credit
                                                    institution       by      Member       States
                                                    themselves     or     by      their     local
                                                    author it ies.
2. Unchanged.
                                                                                                  n
 ---pagebreak---                                                         6 -
                  INITIAL PROPOSAL                                     AMENDED PROPOSAL
                   Art icle 2 (end)                                     Art icle 2 (end)
3.    If   one    of   the    credit     institutions    3. If one of the credit           institutions
required     by paragraph 1 to         take   part   in   required by the first subparagraph of
 the scheme or one of the branches granted               paragraph 1       to    take    part     in    the
voluntary      membership       under     paragraph 2    scheme or one of the branches granted
does     not   comply      with    the    obligations    voluntary             membership            under
 incumbent     on    it    as   a   member    of   the   paragraph 2 does not comply with the
deposit-guarantee scheme, the             supervisory    obligations       incumbent     on    it    as   a
authority     which     issued    the  authorization     member      of      the    deposit-guarantee
shalI be not if ied.                                     scheme,      the     supervisory      authority
                                                         which    issued the authorization shall
                                                         be notified and,        in cooperation with
                                                         the managers of the guarantee scheme,
                                                         shall   take all appropriate measures.
                                                          including        the       imposition          of
                                                         penalties,      to    secure   compliance       by
                                                         the    credit       institution      with      its
                                                         obi igat ions.
After taking all the measures necessary to                If.  as   a   result    of   these    measures
secure       compliance         by     the      credit   compliance by the credit          institution,
institution, or branch           thereof, with     its   or    branch       thereof,      with       their
obligations and after noting the decisions               obligations        is   not    secured,        the
taken    by   the   supervisory      authority    (for   managers of the guarantee scheme may
example     reorganization       or   withdrawal    of   exclude     the    credit     institution       or
the  authorization),         the guarantee      scheme   branch, where national         law authorizes
may    exclude     the    credit     institution    or   such exclusion and with the explicit
branch.                                                  consent of the supervisory authority.
In that case, the guarantee covering               the    In that case, the guarantee covering
institution's          depositors        shall      be   the deposits with         that    institution,
maintained for twelve months.                            or branch thereof, which were placed
                                                         no   later    than    one   month   after      the
                                                         date      of     exclusion.        shall        be
                                                         maintained for twelve months from the
                                                         date of exclusion.
                                                                                                            a.
 ---pagebreak---                                               7 -
               INITIAL PROPOSAL                             AMENDED PROPOSAL
                  Art icle 3                                     Art icle 3
1.     Subject      to    Article 9(1)     of  1.    Subject      to    Article 9(1)       of
Directive 77/780/EEC,     Member States   may  Directive 77/780/EEC,          Member States
stipulate that the branches established by     shall    ensure      that     the     branches
credit institutions with their head office     established     by   credit      institutions
outside the Community must join a deposit-     with   their   head office outside         the
guarantee   scheme   in operation   on  their  Community receive coverage equivalent
territory.                                     to   that   applicable       in   the   Member
                                               State concerned under the terms of a
                                               guarantee     scheme     to     which    their
                                               parent institution belongs.
                                               FaiIing     this.     Member States        may
                                               stipulate        that       the      branches
                                               established     by   credit      institutions
                                               with   their   head office outside the
                                               Community     must     Join      a   deposit-
                                               guarantee     scheme     in   operation     on
                                               their territory.
2. Unchanged
3. Unchanged.
                                                                                             /T
 ---pagebreak---                                                    - 8 -
                INITIAL PROPOSAL                                    AMENDED PROPOSAL
                    Article 4                                           Article 4
 1.  The   deposit-guarantee        schemes   shall    1.    The    deposit-guarantee         schemes
 stipulate that the aggregate deposits of a            shall    stipulate    that    the   aggregate
 given  depositor     must   be    covered  up    to   deposits of a given depositor must be
 ECU 15 000   in   the event     of   a  financial     covered up to ECU 20 000 in the event
 crisis in a credit       institution rendering       of   a   financial    crisis     in a    credit
 deposits unavailable.                                 institution        rendering         deposits
                                                      unavailab le.
2. Unchanged.
3. This Article shall          not   preclude   the   3. This Article shall           not   preclude
retention or adoption of provisions which             the     retention       or     adoption      of
offer a higher guarantee ceiling.                     provisions        which       offer        more
                                                      comprehensive      cover    for   depositors.
                                                       in   particular      by     extending      the
                                                      categories of      investors protected by
                      *'••                            the guarantee or raising the maximum
                                                      level of compensation, nor s Jail It
                                                      preclude    the adoption of provisions
                                                      stipulating that certain deposits of
                                                      vital     importance     such     as   pension
                                                      funds    must   be   guaranteed      in   their
                                                      ent irety.
4. Member States may        limit the guarantee       4.   Member     States     may     limit    the
provided    for    in    paragraph 1     or    that   guarantee provided for in paragraph 1
referred to in paragraph 3 to a specified            or that referred to in paragraph 3 to
percentage of the deposits.          However, the     a    specified      percentage       of     the
percentage guaranteed must equal or exceed            deposits.     However,     the     percentage
90% of the aggregate deposits until             the   guaranteed must equal or exceed 90%
amount   to  be   paid    under    the  guarantee    of the aggregate deposits until the
reaches ECU 15 000.                                   amount to be paid under the guarantee
                                                      reaches ECU 20 000.
                                                                                                     U
 ---pagebreak---                  - 9 -
INITIAL PROPOSAL                AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                Art icle 4 (end)
                    5. No later than five years after the
                    date mentioned     in Article 8(t). the
                    Commission shall present a report to
                    the  Council    on   the  application   of
                    this     Article.       accompanied     if
                    necessary    by    proposals    which   in
                    particular take account of changes in
                    the   banking     sector    and    in  the
                    economic   and   monetary    situation  in
                    the Community.
                                                              <?
 ---pagebreak---                                              - 10 -
              INITIAL PROPOSAL                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                     Art icle 5: Unchanged
                 Art icle 6                                       Article 6
 1. Member States   shall   ensure   that   the  1. Member States       shall   ensure  that
managers of the credit institution provide       the     managers       of    the     credit
depositors with the information necessary         institution   provide    depositors   with
for them to identify the deposit-guarantee       the information necessary for them to
scheme  in which   the  institution   and   its  identify the deposit-guarantee scheme
branches take part within the Community,         in   which   the    institution    and  its
The  limits or  ceilings    applicable under     ©ranches     take     part    within    the
the  deposit-guarantee     scheme   shall    be  Community.    The    amount  of    coverage
indicated   in   a    readily-comprehensible    under the deposit guarantee shall be
manner.                                          made available to depositors.
                                                 Information    shall    also be given at
                                                 first request on the conditions for
                    *                            compensation      and    the    formalities
                                                which must be fulfilled         in order to
                                                obtain compensation.
2. Unchanged.
                                Art icies 7 to 9: Unchanged.
                                       Annex: Unchanged
                                                                                             n
 ---pagebreak---                                                                       ISSN 0254-1475
                                                               COM (93) 253 final
                                                      DOCUMENTS
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