22.12.2004

Official Journal of the European Union

C 317/1

COUNCIL DECISION

of 2 December 2004

amending the Council Decision of 27 March 2000 authorising the Director of Europol to enter into negotiations on agreements with third States and non-EU related bodies

(2004/C 317/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to Article 42(2), Article 10(4) and Article 18 of the Convention on the establishment of a European Police Office (Europol Convention) (1),

Having regard to the Council Act of 3 November 1998 laying down rules governing Europol's external relations with third States and non-European Union related bodies (2), and in particular Article 2 of that Act,

Having regard to the Council Act of 3 November 1998 laying down rules governing the receipt of information by Europol from third parties (3), and in particular Article 2 of that Act,

Having regard to the Council Act of 12 March 1999 adopting the rules governing the transmission of personal data by Europol to third States and third bodies (4), and in particular Articles 2 and 3 of that Act,

Whereas:

(1)	Operational requirements and the need to combat in an effective way organised forms of criminality through Europol, require that Australia be added to the list of third States with whom the Director of Europol is authorised to start negotiations.

(2)	Council Decision of 27 March 2000 (5) should therefore be amended,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Council Decision of 27 March 2000 is hereby amended as follows:

In Article 2(1), under the heading ‘Third States’, the following State shall be added to the alphabetical list:

‘—	Australia’.

Article 2

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its adoption.

Done at Brussels, 2 December 2004.

For the Council

The President

P. H. DONNER

(1) OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 2.

(2) OJ C 26, 30.1.1999, p. 19.

(3) OJ C 26, 30.1.1999, p. 17.

(4) OJ C 88, 30.3.1999, p. 1.

(5) OJ C 106, 13.4.2000, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Decision of 13 June 2002 (OJ C 150, 22.6.2002, p. 1).

22.12.2004

Official Journal of the European Union

C 317/2

LIST OF APPOINTMENTS MADE BY THE COUNCIL

(May, June, July and August 2004 (social field))

(2004/C 317/02)

Committee	End of term of office	Publication in OJ	Person replaced	Resignation/ appointment	Member/alternate	Category	Country	Person appointed	Affiliation	Date of Council Decision
Advisory Committee on Social Security for Migrant Workers	22.9.2004	C 245, 11.10.2002	—	Appointment	Alternate	Employers	Czech Republic	Ms Vladimira DRBALOVÁ	Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic	17.5.2004
Advisory Committee on Social Security for Migrant Workers	22.9.2004	C 245, 11.10.2002	Mr Thomas HADLEY	Resignation	Member	Employers	United Kingdom	Mr Anthony THOMPSON	CBI	14.6.2004
Advisory Committee on Social Security for Migrant Workers	22.9.2004	C 245, 11.10.2002	Mr Nick PAGE	Resignation	Member	Employers	United Kingdom	Ms Emmeline OWENS	CBI	14.6.2004
Advisory Committee on Social Security for Migrant Workers	22.9.2004	C 245, 11.10.2002	Mr Jamie BELL	Resignation	Alternate	Employers	United Kingdom	Mr Sumantra PRASAD	CBI	14.6.2004
Management Board of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training	5.3.2006	C 64, 18.3.2003	Mr George KATROUGALOS	Resignation	Member	Government	Greece	Mr Angelos ANGELIDIS	—	17.5.2004
Management Board of the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training	5.3.2006	C 64, 18.3.2003	Mr Alain DUMONT	Resignation	Member	Employers	France	Mr Bernard FALCK	Medef	17.5.2004
Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions	18.10.2004	C 327, 20.11.2001	Mr James FOTHERGILL	Resignation	Member	Employers	United Kingdom	Ms Kate GROUCUTT	CBI	10.6.2004
Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions	18.10.2004	C 327, 20.11.2001	Ms Maria Teresa FERRARO	Resignation	Member	Government	Italy	Mr Paolo REBOANI	Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali	28.6.2004
Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions	18.10.2004	C 327, 20.11.2001	Mr Michele TIRABOSCHI	Resignation	Alternate	Government	Italy	Ms Francesca PELAIA	Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali	28.6.2004
Administrative Board of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work	2.6.2005	C 161, 5.7.2002	Mr Mark PLATT	Resignation	Alternate	Employers	United Kingdom	Mr Bruce M. WARMAN	—	17.5.2004

22.12.2004

Official Journal of the European Union

C 317/4

COUNCIL DECISION

of 13 December 2004

appointing the full members and alternate members of the Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

(2004/C 317/03)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1365/75 of 26 May 1975 on the creation of a European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (1), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1947/93 (2), and in particular Article 6 thereof,

Having regard to the lists of nominees submitted by the Governments of the Member States for Government representatives and forwarded by the Commission for representatives of workers' and employers' organisations,

Whereas:

(1)	By its Decisions of 8 November 2001 (3) and 28 June 2004 (4) the Council appointed the full members and alternate members of the Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the period from 19 October 2001 to 18 October 2004.

(2)	The full members and alternate members representing the Governments of the Member States and workers' and employers' organisations must be appointed for a three-year period.

(3)	It is for the Commission to appoint its own representatives on the Administrative Board,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Sole Article

The following are hereby appointed full members and alternate members of the Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the period from 19 October 2004 to 18 October 2007.

I. GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES

Country	Full members	Alternate members
Belgium	Mr Michel DE GOLS	Mr Jan BATEN
Czech Republic	Mr Vlastimil VÁŇA	Mr Josef JIRKAL
Denmark	Mr Jonas BERING LIISBERG	Mr Kim Taasby
Germany	Mr Andreas HORST	Ms Eva HÖGL
Estonia	Mr Tiit KAADU	Mr Ivar RAIK
Greece	Mr Gregorios PELORIADIS	Mr Constantinos PETINIS
Spain	Ms Pilar GONZÁLEZ BAYO	Ms Carmen BRIONES GONZALEZ
France	Mr Marc BOISNEL	Mr Emmanuel GREAT
Ireland	Mr Sean WARD	Ms Ríona NÍ FHLANGHAILE
Italy	Mr Paolo REBOANI	Ms Francesca PELAIA
Cyprus	Ms Lenia SAMUEL	Mr Charalambos KOLOKOTRONIS
Latvia	Ms Ineta TĀRE	Ms Ineta VJAKSE
Lithuania	Ms Rita KAZLAUSKIENE	Mr Evaldas BACEVICIUS
Luxembourg	Ms Nadine WELTER	Mr Jean ZAHLEN
Hungary	Ms Mária LADÓ	Ms Edit VIRÁG
Malta	Mr Noel VELLA	Ms Anna BORG
Netherlands	Mr C.J. VOS	Mr MrBLOMSMA
Austria	Mr Andreas SCHALLER	Ms Birgit STIMMER
Poland	Ms Agnieszka CHLON-DOMINCZAK	Mr Jerzy CIECHAÑSKI
Portugal	Mr Jorge GASPAR	Mr Fernando RIBEIRO LOPES
Slovenia	Ms Vladka KOMEL	Ms Metka ŠTOKA-DEBEVEC
Slovakia	Ms Elena MICHALDOVÁ	Ms Elena BARTUNKOVÁ
Finland	Ms Raila KANGASPERKO	Mr Tuomo ALASOINI
Sweden	Ms Inger OHLSSON	Ms Gunilla MALMBORG
United Kingdom	Mr Anthony MARTIN	Mr George CLARK

II. REPRESENTATIVES OF WORKERS' ORGANISATIONS

Country	Full members	Alternate members
Belgium	Mr Herman FONCK	Mr François PHILIPS
Czech Republic	Ms Hana MÁLKOVÁ	Mr Luděk TOMAN
Denmark	Mr Jens WIENE	Mr Niels SORENSEN
Germany	Mr Dieter POUGIN	Mr Reinhard DOMBRE
Estonia	Msr Vaike PARKEL	Mr Kalle KALDA
Greece	Mr Alexandros KALYVIS	Mr Dimitrios MOSHOGIANNIS
Spain	Ms Rosario MORILLO	Mr Iñigo SAGARNA ODRIOZOLA
France	Mr Jean VANOYE	Mr Rafaël NEDZYNSKI
Ireland	Ms Rosheen CALLENDER	Mr Liam BERNEY
Italy	Ms Giulia BARBUCCI	Mr Angelo MASETTI
Cyprus	Mr Petros THEOPHANOUS	Mr Andreas POULIS
Latvia	Ms Iveta OZOLA	Ms Lolita BURBO
Lithuania	Ms Janina MATUIZIENE	Mr Vaidotas PETRONIS
Luxembourg	Ms Viviane GOERGEN	Mr René PIZZAFERRI
Hungary	Ms Erzsébet HANTI	Mr László GYIMESI
Malta	Mr Michael PARNIS	Mr Anthony Micallef DEBONO
Netherlands	Mr Erik PENTENGA	Mr Arie WOLTMEIJER
Austria	Ms Renate CZESKLEBA	Mr Wolfgang GREIF
Poland	Mr Bogdan OLSZEWSKI	Ms Agata BARANOWSKA-GRYCUK
Portugal	Mr Joaquim DIONISIO	Mr João de DEUS GOMES PIRES
Slovenia	Mr Pavle VRHOVEC	Mr Jure SNOJ
Slovakia	Ms Eva MEŠŤANOVÁ	Ms Margita ANČICOVÁ
Finland	Ms Marjaana VALKONEN	Ms Leila KURKI
Sweden	Mr Mats ESSEMYR	Mr Sten GELLERSTEDT
United Kingdom	Mr Richard EXELL	Mr Peter COLDRICK

III. REPRESENTATIVES OF EMPLOYERS' ORGANISATIONS

Country	Full members	Alternate members
Belgium	Mr Arnout DE KOSTER	Mr Roland WAEYAERT
Czech Republic	Ms Vladimira DRBALOVÁ	Mr Josef FORNŮSEK
Denmark	Ms Henriette BENNICKE	Mr Nils ANDREASEN
Germany	Mr Rainer SCHMIDT-RUDLOFF	Ms Renate HORNUNG-DRAUSS
Estonia	Ms Eve PÄÄRENDSON	Mr Tarmo KRIIS
Greece	Ms Rena BARDANI	Mr Elias TSAMOUSSOPOULOS
Spain	Ms Maria ANGELES ASENJO	Ms Rosario ESCOLAR POLO
France	Ms Florence CORDIER	Mr Emmanuel JULIEN
Ireland	Mr Liam DOHERTY	Mr Gavin MARIÉ
Italy	Mr Massimo MARCHETTI	Ms Stefania ROSSI
Cyprus	Mr Michael ANTONIOU	Ms Lena PANAYIOTOU
Latvia	Ms Elīna EGLE	Mr Daiga ERMSONE
Lithuania	Ms Laura SIRVYDIENE	Ms Gintare MISKINYTE
Luxembourg	Mr Nicolas WELSCH	Ms Emmanuelle MATHIEU
Hungary	Mr Antal CSUPORT	Mr Attila SZABADKAI
Malta	Mr John B. SCICLUNA	Ms Roselyn BORG
Netherlands	Mr Jan Willem VAN DEN BRAAK	Mr Gerard A. Mr VAN DER GRIND
Austria	Mr Heinrich BRAUNER	Mr Christoph PARAK
Poland	Mr Michał BONI	Mr Andrzej JANKOWSKI
Portugal	Mr Heitor SALGUEIRO	Mr Pedro ALMEIDA FREIRE
Slovenia	Mr Marjan RAVNIK	Ms Nina GLOBOCNIK
Slovakia	Ms Viola KROMEROVÁ	Ms Martina KUNÁKOVÁ
Finland	Mr Seppo SAUKKONEN	Ms Mirja-Maija TOSSAVAINEN
Sweden	Ms Marie-Louise THORSEN-LIND	Mr Sverker RUDEBERG
United Kingdom	Ms Kate GROUCUTT	Mr Neil BENTLEY

Done at Brussels, 13 December 2004.

For the Council

The President

B. R. BOT

(1) OJ L 139, 30.5.1975, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 181, 23.7.1993, p. 13.

(3) OJ C 327, 22.11.2001, p. 1.

(4) Not yet published in the Official Journal.

22.12.2004

Official Journal of the European Union

C 317/8

Euro exchange rates (1)

21 December 2004

(2004/C 317/04)

1 euro=

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,3394
JPY	Japanese yen	139,85
DKK	Danish krone	7,4338
GBP	Pound sterling	0,69230
SEK	Swedish krona	8,9695
CHF	Swiss franc	1,5403
ISK	Iceland króna	83,75
NOK	Norwegian krone	8,2575
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9559
CYP	Cyprus pound	0,5788
CZK	Czech koruna	30,493
EEK	Estonian kroon	15,6466
HUF	Hungarian forint	245,05
LTL	Lithuanian litas	3,4528
LVL	Latvian lats	0,6893
MTL	Maltese lira	0,4322
PLN	Polish zloty	4,1021
ROL	Romanian leu	38 551
SIT	Slovenian tolar	239,79
SKK	Slovak koruna	38,565
TRL	Turkish lira	1 862 000
AUD	Australian dollar	1,7476
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,6424
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	10,4202
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,8779
SGD	Singapore dollar	2,1983
KRW	South Korean won	1 413,87
ZAR	South African rand	7,5914

(1)

Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

22.12.2004

Official Journal of the European Union

C 317/10

Initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a view to adopting a Council Decision on protecting the euro against counterfeiting, by designating Europol as the Central Office for combating euro counterfeiting

(2004/C 317/06)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 30(1)(c) and Article 34(2)(c) thereof,

Having regard to the initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1),

Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (2),

Whereas:

(1)	As the legal currency of 12 Member States, the euro has increasingly become a global currency and has therefore become a high-priority target of international counterfeiting organisations.

(2)	The euro has also become the target of third-country counterfeiters.

(3)	A further increase in the number of counterfeit euros, which would jeopardise the free circulation of euro banknotes and coins, is to be prevented.

(4)	The Convention for the Prevention of Counterfeiting Currency, agreed on 20 April 1929 in Geneva (hereinafter referred to as ‘Geneva Convention’), should be applied more effectively under the conditions of European integration.

(5)	Third countries need a central contact for information on counterfeit euros and all information on counterfeit euros should be brought together at Europol for purposes of analysis.

(6)

In view of Council Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 of 28 June 2001 laying down measures necessary for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting (3), the Council considers it appropriate for all Member States to become contracting parties to the Geneva Convention and set up central offices within the meaning of Article 12 of the Convention.

(7)	The Council considers it appropriate to designate Europol as the central office for combating euro counterfeiting within the meaning of Article 12 of the Geneva Convention,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

1. For the Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention, namely Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, Europol shall, in accordance with the Declaration in the annex hereto (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Declaration’), act as the central office for combating euro counterfeiting within the meaning of the first sentence of Article 12 of the Geneva Convention. For counterfeiting of all other currencies and for central office functions not delegated to Europol pursuant to the Declaration, the existing competencies of the national central offices shall remain in effect.

2. Member States, which are not yet Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention, namely Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia, shall accede to the Geneva Convention. Upon acceding to the Geneva Convention, they shall, in accordance with the Declaration, designate Europol as the central office for combating euro counterfeiting in accordance with the first sentence of Article 12 of the Geneva Convention.

Article 2

1. The governments of the Member States which are Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention shall issue the Declaration and commission the representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to forward the Declarations to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

2. The governments of the Member States which are not yet Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention shall, in the event of accession, promptly issue the Declaration and commission the representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to forward the Declaration to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Article 3

This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at …

For the Council

The President

(1) OJ C …

(2) Opinion delivered on …… (not yet published in the Official Journal).

(3) OJ L 181, 4.7.2001, p. 6.

ANNEX

Declaration of … to designate Europol as the central office for combating euro counterfeiting

………, a Member State of the European Union, has given the European Police Office (hereinafter referred to as ‘Europol’) a mandate to combat euro counterfeiting.

In order for the Geneva Convention of 1929 to function more effectively, ……… shall in future fulfil its obligations as follows:

With regard to euro counterfeiting, Europol shall perform — in the framework of its objective according to the Europol Convention (1) — the following central office functions within the meaning of Articles 12 to 15 of the Geneva Convention of 1929.

1.1.	Europol shall centralise and process, in accordance with the Europol Convention, all information of a nature to facilitate the investigation, prevention and combating of euro counterfeiting and shall forward this information without delay to the national central offices of the EU Member States.

1.2.	In accordance with the Europol Convention, in particular in accordance with its Article 18 thereof and the relevant Council Acts, (2) Europol shall correspond directly with the central offices of third countries to fulfil the tasks set down in points 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 of this Declaration.

1.3.	Europol shall, insofar as it considers it expedient, forward to the central offices of third countries a set of cancelled specimens of actual euros.

1.4.	Europol shall regularly notify the central offices of third countries, giving all necessary particulars, of new currency issues and the withdrawal of currency from circulation.

1.5.

Except in cases of purely local interest, Europol shall, insofar as it considers it expedient, notify the central offices of third countries of:

—

any discovery of counterfeit or falsified euro currency. Notification of the counterfeit or falsification shall be accompanied by a technical description of the counterfeit, to be provided solely by the institution whose notes have been counterfeited. A photographic reproduction or, if possible, a specimen counterfeited note should be transmitted. In urgent cases, a notification and a brief description made by the police authorities may be discreetly communicated to the central offices interested, without prejudice to the notification and technical description mentioned above;

—	details of discoveries of counterfeiting, stating whether it has been possible to seize all the counterfeit currency put into circulation.

1.6.	As central office for the Member States, Europol shall participate in conferences dealing with euro counterfeiting within the meaning of Article 15 of the Geneva Convention.

1.7.	Where Europol is unable to carry out the tasks specified in points 1.1. to 1.6. in accordance with the Europol Convention, the national central offices of the Member States shall retain competence.

2.	With regard to the counterfeiting of all other currencies and for central office functions not delegated to Europol in accordance with point 1, the existing competencies of the national central offices shall remain in effect.

Name of Representative ………, this … day of …….

(1) OJ C 316, 27.11.1995, p. 1.

(2) Council Act of 12 March 1999 adopting the rules governing the transmission of personal data by Europol to third States and third bodies (OJ C 88, 30.3.1999, p. 1) and Council Act of 28 February 2002 amending the Council Act of 12 March 1999 adopting the rules governing the transmission of personal data by Europol to third States and third bodies (OJ C 76, 27.3.2002, p. 1).

		ISSN 1725-2423
Official Journal of the European Union		C 317

English edition	Information and Notices	Volume 47 22 December 2004

Notice No	Contents	page
	I Information
	Council
2004/C 317/1	Council Decision of 2 December 2004 amending the Council Decision of 27 March 2000 authorising the Director of Europol to enter into negotiations on agreements with third States and non-EU related bodies	1

2004/C 317/2	List of appointments made by the Council (May, June, July and August 2004 (social field))	2

2004/C 317/3	Council Decision of 13 December 2004 appointing the full members and alternate members of the Administrative Board of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions	4

	Commission
2004/C 317/4	Euro exchange rates	8

2004/C 317/5	Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case COMP/M.3572 — CEMEX/RMC) ( 1 )	9

	II Preparatory Acts pursuant to Title VI of the Treaty on European Union
2004/C 317/6	Initiative of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, the Italian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with a view to adopting a Council Decision on protecting the euro against counterfeiting, by designating Europol as the Central Office for combating euro counterfeiting	10


	(1) Text with EEA relevance