Monetary Law Blog

The National Side of the Slovenian Euro Coins

The red coins show a stork (1 cent), the ancient Sovereign Enthronement Stone (2 cent) and a man sowing stars (5 cent).

 

The yellow coins show the unrealised "Cathedral of Freedom" designed by Jože Plecnik (10 cent), two playing Lipizzaner horses (20 cent), and Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest mountain (50 cent).

 

The 1-euro coin shows the bust of Primož Trubar, author of the first Slovenian printed book (1550). The 2-euro coin shows the profile of France Prešeren, Slovenia's greatest poet, with a verse in his handwriting.

 

Edge lettering on the 2-euro coin: SLOVENIJA, followed by an engraved dot.

 

SOURCE: European Commission website

“Austrian national bank predestined for banking supervision”

In an interview with the Austrian national daily newspaper Der Standard, Klaus Liebscher – governor of the Austrian central bank (OeNB) – claims banking supervision.

 

“If lawmakers want it, OeNB can take the responsibility for banking supervision completely. We are predestined for this, we have the experts, we can do it," Liebscher reportedly said.

 

His claim is based on OeNB’s mandate as laid down in national laws and the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). Liebscher said: “We are responsible for the functioning of the markets, the supervision of the entire financial markets’ stability.”

 

Indeed, safeguarding financial stability is often presented as ESCB ‘aims’. See, for example, ‘The mission of the Eurosystem’ and ‘The strategic intents of the Eurosystem’.

 

However, no general financial stability ‘objective’ can be derived from the EC Treaty.

 

Nevertheless, since monetary policy and financial stability are linked, and financial markets and infrastructures play a key role in the transmission of monetary policy, the ECB and euro area national central banks (NCBs) like OeNB have a legitimate interest in and are committed to financial stability.

 

In 2001 the ECB published a note on the involvement of central banks in prudential supervision: ‘The Role of Central Banks in Prudential Supervision’. This note was adopted after debates on the reorganisation of the supervisory structure in some euro area countries.

 

The Governing Council of the ECB concluded that “when viewed from a Eurosystem perspective, the attribution of extensive supervisory responsibilities (i.e., both macro and micro-prudential) to NCBs is likely to prove beneficial”.

“ECB should care about economic growth”

Ségolène Royal expressed herself in favour of expanding the European Central Bank’s mandate as laid down in Article 105 of the EC Treaty. On Saturday, the French daily Le Monde reported that the socialist candidate for the French presidency is of the opinion that the ECB should not only care about inflation targeting, but also about economic growth and social progress.

 

Ségolène Royal’s statements were backed by French trade Minister Christine Lagarde who recently criticised the ECB’s interest policy.

 

Last month, French Premier Dominique de Villepin even called for limits on the power of the ECB. "We must clarify matters in exchange rate policy, which means taking back our sovereignty," he said – probably referring to Article 111 of the EC Treaty – according to Telegraph.co.uk.

 

It is this “debate on the Euro in France [that] worries me”, Angela Merkel – German Chancellor and current EU chair – reportedly said. She has reiterated German support for central bank independence as laid down in Article 108 of the EC Treaty.

 

For further reference see my papers on Article 105, Article 108 and Article 111.

Reference to LawOfEMU.info

EU Law Blog has made a reference to www.lawofemu.info. The least I can do, is to post a reference to EU Law Blog :-)

The euro: five years on

The Dutch Broadcasting Foundation (NOS) has developed a Dutch language website dedicated to ‘the euro: five years on’. This multimedia website provides news and background information, a forum, interviews with i.a. dr. Nout Wellink – the president of the Bank of the Netherlands – and ‘euro feelings’ in other Member States.

What happens if a Member State drops the euro?

Charles Proctor, partner at Bird & Bird, has written a paper on a quite sensitive topic: dropping the euro and leaving the euro area.

 

Charles Proctor, ‘The Future of the Euro – What Happens if a Member State Leaves?’, 17 EBRL [2006] 909-937

 

He examines the following matters:

 

-         Attribution of powers in the fields of monetary policy, exchange rate policy and fiscal policy;

-         Monetary policy powers of the ECB and the ESCB;

-         Consequences of a voluntary and agreed withdrawal from the euro area;

-         Consequences of a unilateral withdrawal, and

-         Expelling a troublesome member from the euro area.

 

Proctor draws the following conclusions:

 

1.      The ESCB seems to have the authority to redefine its monetary policy by loosening its inflation target.

2.      Departure from the euro area would be very difficult to achieve in practical terms and would, even in case of a negotiated withdrawal, cause very significant difficulties.

3.      There is no legal basis upon which a Member State could be expelled.

Slovenia adopts euro

As of today Slovenia is the 13th EU Member State that has adopted the euro as legal tender.

 

The European Economic and Monetary Union started on 1 January 1999 when 11 Member States adopted the euro (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland). Greece joined the euro area on 1 January 2001.

 

On 11 July 2006 the Council of the EU decided that Slovenia fulfils the necessary conditions for the adoption of the euro (Council Decision 2006/495/EC). The conversion rate between the euro and the Slovenia tolar is laid down in Council Regulation 1086/2006: 1 euro = 239,640 Slovenian tolars.