Brussels, 10/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - By adopting last Wednesday in Strasbourg, the report by Christa Randzio-Plath (ESP, German), the Parliament approved a recommendation from the European Central Bank (ECB) aiming to harden the appeals procedures against penalties imposed by its directorate for failure to respect the requirements in terms of obligatory reserves. The ECB proposes to end a derogation, foreseen in the 1998 regulation, which allows a company to challenge the penalties imposed by the ECB directorate by more rapidly introducing (fifteen days instead of two months) an appeal before the Court of Justice. However, experience has shown that this fifteen-day period is insufficient to allow the Board of Governors to carryout an in-depth investigation and issue a decision, while respecting the procedural rights of the company concerned. The aim is thus to avoid that the company has the right, after the fifteen day period, to introduce an appeal without the Board of Governors having ruled.