Decision of the European Central Bank of 15 May 2008 on security accreditation procedures for manufacturers of euro secure items for euro banknotes (ECB/2008/3) (2008/402/EC) (repealed)

SECTION I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision:

(a)

‘NCB’ means the national central bank of a Member State that has adopted the euro;

(b)

‘future Eurosystem NCB’ means the national central bank of a Member State that has not adopted the euro but has fulfilled the conditions set for the adoption of the euro and in relation to which a decision on the abrogation of the derogation (pursuant to Article 122(2) of the Treaty) has been taken;

(c)

‘euro secure items’ means the first series of euro banknotes and their components and other related materials or information requiring security protection, the loss, theft or publication of which could damage the integrity of euro banknotes or assist in the production of counterfeit euro banknotes or their components;

(d)

‘security rules’ means the substantive rules for the acquisition of euro secure items and any euro secure activity, as laid down in separate rules by the ECB from time to time;

(e)

‘purchaser’ means a company, organisation or national central bank that is involved in some way in contracting as a purchaser for the production, processing or storage of euro secure items;

(f)

‘manufacturing site’ means any premises that a manufacturer uses, or wishes to use, for the production, processing (including destruction) or storage of euro secure items prior to their transport to the purchaser or, where applicable, to a specialist destruction facility;

(g)

‘euro secure activity’ means any of the following: production, processing (including destruction), storage or transport of euro secure items;

(h)

‘manufacturer’ means any entity that is, or wishes to be, involved in a euro secure activity, except entities that are only, or only wish to be, involved in the transport or destruction of euro secure items, and ‘accredited manufacturer’ means a manufacturer which has been granted full security accreditation;

(i)

‘full security accreditation’ means the status, the scope of which is set out in Article 3, granted by the ECB to a manufacturer for a euro secure activity in respect of a euro secure item;

(j)

‘non-compliance’ means an instance in which any of the following do not comply with the relevant parts of the security rules: (i) the security arrangements put in place pursuant to this Decision by a manufacturer; (ii) actions taken by an accredited manufacturer carrying out euro secure activity; or (iii) actions taken by a manufacturer with temporary security accreditation preparing to carry out euro secure activity;

(k)

‘security inspection’ means an inspection of a euro secure activity for the purposes of assessing whether the security arrangements at a manufacturing site comply with the security rules; and

(l)

‘temporary security accreditation’ means the status, the scope of which is set out in Article 4, granted by the ECB to a manufacturer confirming that it may prepare to carry out a euro secure activity in respect of a euro secure item.

Article 2 General principles

1. The security rules adopted by the ECB are minimum rules. Manufacturers may adopt and implement stricter standards, but the ECB shall only assess compliance with its own security rules.

2. Notwithstanding any provisions laid down by the ECB elsewhere that apply this Decision to specific procedures relating to euro banknotes, this Decision shall not apply to the processing and storage of euro banknotes that are registered with an NCB as having been produced but not issued.

3. An accredited manufacturer may only supply euro secure items to the following:

(a) another accredited manufacturer;

(b) an NCB;

(c) subject to a decision of the Governing Council, a future Eurosystem NCB; or

(d) the ECB.

4. The Executive Board shall take all decisions relating to manufacturers’ security accreditation taking into account the views of the Banknote Committee. Moreover, it shall be competent to grant any consent pursuant to Article 3(6).

5. All costs and associated losses that a manufacturer incurs in connection with the application of this Decision shall be borne by the manufacturer.

Article 3 Full security accreditation

1. An accredited manufacturer may only carry out a euro secure activity in respect of a euro secure item if the ECB has granted it full security accreditation for that euro secure activity.

2. A manufacturer may be granted full security accreditation for a euro secure activity in respect of a euro secure item provided that:

(a) the security arrangements that it has in place at a particular manufacturing site for the planned euro secure activity comply with the relevant parts of the security rules;

(b) any printing works involved in the planned euro secure activity is physically located in a Member State; and

(c) any manufacturing site other than a printing works involved in the planned euro secure activity is located in a Member State or in a member state of the European Free Trade Association.

3. The Executive Board may amend the scope of the location requirement determined pursuant to paragraph 2(c), taking into account the views of the Banknote Committee. Any such decision shall be promptly notified to the Governing Council, and the Executive Board shall abide by any decision of the Governing Council on this issue.

4. Full security accreditation shall be granted to a manufacturer for an unlimited period, but its status may be affected or it may be revoked by a decision taken pursuant to Articles 13 to 15.

5. An accredited manufacturer may only carry out a euro secure activity at the manufacturing site for which it has been granted security accreditation and in respect of the particular euro secure items specified for that manufacturing site. An accredited manufacturer may arrange transport of euro secure items to a purchaser and, if necessary, arrange for them to be destroyed on its behalf (including for any transports related thereto) at a specialist destruction facility in accordance with the relevant parts of the security rules. Any non-compliance with the abovementioned parts of the security rules occurring during such destruction or transport shall be treated as an instance of non-compliance by the accredited manufacturer.

6. An accredited manufacturer may not, without the ECB’s prior written consent, outsource or transfer to another manufacturing site or to any third party (including the manufacturer’s subsidiaries and associated companies) the production, processing (including destruction) or storage of any euro secure items.

Article 4 Temporary security accreditation

1. A manufacturer which has not been granted full security accreditation may be granted temporary security accreditation for a planned euro secure activity in respect of a euro secure item for a period not exceeding one year. If the manufacturer tenders for or is commissioned with a euro secure activity within this period, its temporary security accreditation may be extended until the ECB has taken a decision on whether to grant it full security accreditation.

2. A manufacturer may be granted temporary security accreditation for a planned euro secure activity in respect of a euro secure item provided that:

(a) the security arrangements that it has in place at a particular manufacturing site for the planned euro secure activity, with the exception of process control and audit trail procedures for production, processing, and storage of the euro secure items for which accreditation is applied for, comply with the relevant parts of the security rules;

(b) the manufacturer is able to demonstrate that it is capable of developing and putting in place such process control and audit trail procedures as described in subparagraph (a) that will comply with the security rules;

(c) any printing works involved in the planned euro secure activity is physically located in a Member State; and

(d) any manufacturing site other than a printing works involved in the planned euro secure activity is located in a Member State or in a member state of the European Free Trade Association.

3. A manufacturer with temporary security accreditation for a euro secure activity in respect of a euro secure item may receive confidential euro banknote production specifications and prepare to carry out that euro secure activity.

4. A manufacturer with temporary security accreditation for a euro secure activity in respect of a euro secure item may not carry out that euro secure activity or any other euro secure activity for which it has not yet been granted security accreditation, and it may not transfer or assign its temporary security accreditation to a third party (including any of its subsidiaries and associated companies).

5. Without prejudice to the maximum time limit for expiry of temporary accreditation and any extension thereof as stipulated in Article 4(1), temporary security accreditation shall expire automatically on the date specified by the ECB pursuant to Article 7(1)(d), unless: (a) the manufacturer is granted full security accreditation for euro secure activity in respect of the relevant euro secure item before that date, in which case temporary security accreditation is deemed to expire on the date on which such full security accreditation is granted; or (b) it is revoked by a decision taken pursuant to Article 14.

6. Temporary security accreditation may also be affected by a decision taken pursuant to Article 12 or Article 15.