27.3.2004   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 78/276

1.

Can the Commission confirm that in the 12 EU Member States which have introduced the euro as legal tender the number of people employed by national central banks, which were previously responsible for matters relating to the circulation of currency, has fallen substantially since 1998 and is set to fall much further over coming years?

2.

What percentage of these lost jobs are being transferred to the European Central Bank, what percentage are being transferred to private firms or firms set to be privatised, and what percentage are disappearing completely as a result of the hiving-off of tasks or computerisation?

3.

Can the Commission state what tasks national central banks will still be responsible for performing in, respectively, 2010, 2015 and 2020 and what tasks they will then no longer be required to carry out? How will the latter tasks be taken care of?

4.

Will this downgrading of the role played by national central banks ultimately leave them as nothing more than local branches of the ECB? When does the Commission expect this process to be completed?

5.

Does the ECB or do other institutions compare national central banks with each other in terms of their staffing levels, and is this leading to competition to determine which bank can manage with the smallest possible staff? Do these comparisons take account of the volume of tasks performed thus far by national central banks, which differs from Member State to Member State?

6.

In the future, will the ECB issue invitations to tender in connection with the printing of banknotes, rather than retaining the existing system whereby quotas are allocated to national central banks and fulfilled by specialist firm which in the past printed national banknotes?

7.

Will responsibility for monitoring measures to prevent the production and distribution of counterfeit money also be taken out of the hands of national central banks and shared in future between the ECB and private companies providing cash services?

8.

Can the Commission be sure that no bancomat machines anywhere are supplying the public with counterfeit euro banknotes? If it is unable to guarantee this, what steps are being taken to ensure that this money withdrawal system does not lead to a proliferation of counterfeit money in the future?

1. and 2.

The Commission is not in the possession of statistical information on the number of national central bank (NCB) staff and its evolution over time. It cannot therefore confirm the presumption that the number of staff in euro area central banks has decreased since 1998, neither can it provide indications on possible job losses at NCBs resulting from transfers to the European Central Bank (ECB) or to the private sector.

3.

In accordance with Article 105(2) of the EC Treaty and Article 3(1) of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB)/ECB Statute, the ESCB, which is composed of the ECB and the NCBs, performs several tasks:

Moreover, Article 3(3) of the ESCB/ECB Statute specifies that the ESCB shall contribute to the smooth conduct of policies carried out by the competent authorities related to the prudential supervision of credit institutions and the stability of the financial system. Within the framework of the ESCB, the NCBs are, moreover, carrying out a variety of additional tasks such as: the collection of statistical information, the printing of banknotes and the bringing into circulation of banknotes and coins, the conduct of various financial market operations in the framework of the ESCB's monetary policy, the conduct of economic research, etc.

In addition, as provided in Article 14(4) of the ESCB/ECB Statute, NCBs are allowed to carry out tasks going beyond these statutory requirements. These tasks vary considerably from country to country, depending on existing practices and traditions in each of them.

4.

The EC Treaty and the ESCB/ECB Statute lay down the objectives, the structure and the tasks of the ESCB. The Commission disagrees that any downgrading of the NCBs is involved, since both the ECB and the NCBs play an essential role in the successful functioning of the ESCB and in the achievement of its objectives.

5.

The Commission is not aware of any comparisons between NCBs as regards their staffing levels. Since the tasks to be fulfilled by the NCBs may vary considerably from country to country, such comparisons would be difficult to perform.

6.

The ECB has carried out an in-depth analysis of future procedures for the procurement of banknotes in the Eurosystem. Among others, the question of whether tendering procedures might be applied in the medium term for raw materials and the printing of euro banknotes was considered. On 10 July 2003 the Governing Council decided that from 2008 onwards NCBs without in-house/public printing works will have recourse to common tendering procedures. NCBs with in-house/public printing works may apply this scheme if they wish.

Up until 2012 a common competitive scheme with tendering procedures will be fully implemented. NCBs with in-house/public printing works will be allowed to opt out from this scheme.

7.

Community legislation, notably Council Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 (1), among others provides for a number of responsibilities at National and Community levels. National authorities have been designated in each of the Member States, among others National Central Banks. These authorities have been assigned with specific responsibilities with respect to the fight against euro counterfeiting and cooperate closely with each other and with the European institutions (ECB, Commission and Europol). Particularly, ensuring continued public confidence in circulating euro banknotes is a crucial part of the public task entrusted to the Eurosystem. There is no intention to share this with private cash service companies.

8.

The Commission is collaborating with Member States in the preparation of legislation aimed at the timely detection of counterfeits, so as to maximise the protection of the public and ensure the authenticity of the circulating euro banknotes and coins. Some Member States have initiated specific legislative measures aimed at detecting counterfeit banknotes before they enter into circulation, to complement the Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001, and a number of National Central Banks have issued legal acts which clarify the obligations of and provide guidance to professional cash handlers on acceptable standards for the sorting of euro banknotes. In addition, the National Central Banks have all — depending on the situation in their respective Member States — taken other appropriate measures, such as providing training for the staff of professional cash handlers.

The ECB has issued Terms of Reference for customer-operated cash recycling machines requiring that such machines be able to register/identify counterfeit and suspect counterfeit banknotes, as well as the respective account holder to help with retraceability of attempted deposits of counterfeits. In line with these, National Central Banks have taken appropriate measures aimed at ensuring that such dispensing machines check each banknote for authenticity and fitness, thus contributing to the detection of euro counterfeits before they reach the public.