Brussels, 30/08/2010 (Agence Europe) - Next week, the European Parliament will examine, at first reading, the report by Slavi Binev (independent, Bulgaria) on the proposed regulation on the authentication of euro coins and the handling of coins which should not be in circulation. This regulation aims to set in place a common method for the authentication of euro coins and to bring in checks by the member states. Under the initial proposal of the Commission of September 2009 (EUROPE 9976), the current lack of a common obligatory framework has ended up with practices which differ from one member state to the next, which does not make it possible to ensure uniform protection of the currency. This regulation will apply from 1 January 2012 in all member states which have adopted the euro.
Several amendments have been put forward, such as a transitional period of three years from 1 January 2012, during which the member states will be able to issue derogations as regards the models of machines used for handling coins to be used in the authentication of euro coins. The regulation also provides that credit establishments and money transporters will have to ensure that the authenticity of the euro coins they re-circulate is verified. The authentication procedure, which will be carried out using coin handling machines or correctly trained staff, will inevitably entail costs for the establishments taking part in the process, but Binev's report recommends only mentioning the possibility for these establishments to charge handling fees (the Commission is much more positive on this). (A.B./transl.fl)